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DEC  5  1921 


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Divisiott 

BV    3625  7k7    M6 

Vinson,  Thomas  Chalmers, 

1887- 
William  McCutchan  Morrison 


— 1- 


DR.    MORRISON 


DEC   r,  1921 

Willtam  iirQIutrljait  iMnrnfinn 
©tuf  ntQ  If^ara  in  Ol^tttral  Afrtra 


By 

Rev.  T.  C.  Vinson 


1921 


PUBLISHED    BY 

PRESBYTERIAN  COMMITTEE  OF  PUBLICATION 
Richmond  Va— Texarkana,  Ark.,  Tex, 


CORYRIGHT  1921,  BY 

PRESBYTERIAN  COMMITTEE  OF  PUBLICATION 
Richmond,  Va, 


To 

the  Men's  Club  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church 

in  Chattanooga,  Tennessee 

whose  liberality  has  made  possible  my  work  in  Africa 

and  whose  fellowship  in  the  Gospel  has  ever 

been  an  inspiration  to  me 

this  book  is  ajfectionately  dedicated 


3lnbrx 

Acquittal  of  Urs.  Morrison  and  Sheppard 104 

Articles  on   Congo   Reforms 52,   155,   156,   159 

Bakuba  Dialect . 35,   161 

Bakuba  Tribe 27,  29,  33,  84,  180,  181 

Baluba  Dialect 35,  59 

Baluba  Tribe I 33,  113,  116,  126,  127 

Caravans 23-24,   133 

Commission  Appointed  by  Leopold 54 

Conference  of  Congo  Missionaries 141-148 

Congo  Free  State 46-56,167,179 

Congo   Reform  Associations 55-56 

Congo    Reforms 45-56,    75-87,    156-159 

Congo  Reforms,  Report  of  British  Consul 84-87 

Congo  Reforms,  Speech  of  Dr.  Morrison  before  Boston 

Peace  Conference 179-191 

Congo  River 20-21 

Correspondent  for  Missions 159 

Daily  Program  of  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Morrison 73 

Death  of  Mrs.  Morrison 119 

Death  of  Dr.  Morrison 149 

Dialects,  Native 59-60 

Diary  of  Dr.  Morr'son 14-15 

Dictionary,  Baluba  _  _ : 45,  63-64,  153-154 

Duties  of  Missionaries 37 

Education  of  Dr.  Morrison 11-12 

Fevers,  African 25 

Funerals,  Native   31-33,   118,   123 

Furloughs 45,  127-129 

Genealogy  of  Dr.  Morrison _     9-10 

Grammar,  Native 45,  57-64,  153 

"Herald,  Kasa" 41,  78-80,  193-194 

Ibanche 27-29,  33-34,  72 

Ivory  Industry 23 

"Kasa  Herald" 41,  78-80,  193-194 

Lapsley,  S.  N.   25,194 


6  Twenty  Years  in  Africa 

Lapsley,  The 71-72 

Lambuth,  Bishop 133,  141,  172-173 

Leopold,    King 24,  46,  48-51,  54,72,  75,180-184 

Leopold,  Letter   to 50-51 

Leopoldville  _i 24-25,  94 

Luebo 26-27,  35-36,  58,  113,  187-190 

Lukenga    33,    38-40 

Lusambo 117 

Mark  Twain,  "Leopold's  Soliloquy" 159 

Marriage  of  Dr.  and  Mrs. 'Morrison 69-70 

Mission  Policy 134-140 

Morrison,  Mrs 69-75, 116-124 

Nicknames,   African   28-29 

Palavers 126,  138-139 

Prayers  of  Dr.  Morrison 164-109 

Railroad,    Congo    21-23,71 

Rubber  Compa,nies 23,  76-83 

Sankuru  River   36,  38,  40 

Sheppard,  Dr.  W.  H 27,  36,  76-84,  108 

Slavery 33 

Speeches  on  Congo  Reform,  Dr.  Morri  on — 

In  Boston 52 

In  London 47 

Stannard  Case 97 

State  Department 96-98,  197-201 

Stead,  W.  T.,  Article  on  Congo  Reforms 48 

Students,  Native 41-43 

Training  of  Natives 31,  41-43,  74,  165  (Footnote) 

Translations 30,  57-68,  104-105,  113,  124,  127,  128,  153 

Treaty  of  Berlin 34,  179,  181 

Trial  of  Drs.  Morrison  and  Sheppard 89,  105,  108-111 

Tribunal,    Belgian    45-46,    103-104 

Vandervelde,  Emil 49,  98-99,  102-105,  109 

Voyages    to    Africa 14-17,    70-71,    127 

Zappo-Zapps 45,  189 


fr^far* 


This  book  has  been  prepared  at  the  johit  request  of  the 
American  Presbyterian  Congo  Mission  (A.  P.  C.  M.)  and 
of  the  Executive  Committee  of  Foreign  Missions  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United  States.  Its  purpose  is 
to  make  the  world,  and  especially  our  own  church,  better 
acquainted  with  the  character  and  the  work  of  Dr.  Mor- 
rison. No  attempt  has  been  made  to  eulogize  the  man,  but 
rather  to  give  a  simple  account  of  what  he  did.  We  have 
felt  that  an  honest  and  unadorned  statement  of  the  truth 
regarding  him  would  be  a  higher  encomium  than  any  ideal 
picture  that  could  be  drawn. 

The  writer  has  had  access  to  Dr.  Morrison's  personal 
papers  and  to  the  documents  on  file  in  the  offices  of  the  Mis- 
sion at  Luebo  and  of  the  Executive  Committee  in  Nashville. 
It  was  also  his  high  privilege  to  be  intimately  associated 
with  Dr.  Morrison's  work  for  six  years. 

In  the  writing  of  this  story  it  has  been  necessary  to  refer 
to  the  mal-administration  of  the  Belgian  Congo  under  the 
past  and  present  regimes.  In  doing  this  the  writer  has  not 
attempted  to  make  any  attack  on  that  nation,  so  recently 
allied  with  our  own  country  in  the  World  War.  No  judg- 
ment is  pronounced  upon  Belgium  for  the  wrongs  com- 
mitted in  its  Congo  administration.  We  have  described 
those  conditions  simply  because  they  form  the  background 
to  the  picture  of  Dr.  Morrison  which  we  have  attempted 
to  draw.  The  part  that  he  played  in  endeavoring  to  alle- 
viate the  sufferings  of  the  oppressed  formed  the  most 
dramatic  episode  of  his  life  and  made  him  an  international 
figure.    We  could  not  do  Dr.  Morrison  justice  without  pic- 


8  Twenty  Years  in  Africa 

turing  as  vividly  as  possible  the  conditions  under  which  he 
labored. 

The  writer  is  indebted  to  his  colleagues  in  the  field  for 
their  valuable  assistance  in  the  preparation  of  this  book; 
to  Rev.  R.  D.  Bedinger  for  the  loan  of  a  rather  complete 
file  of  the  "Missionary  Survey" ;  to  Rev.  Joseph  Savels  for 
the  translation  of  certain  French  documents  relative  to  the 
trial  of  Dr.  Morrison  at  Leopoldville;  and  to  Rev.  C.  L. 
Crane  for  reviewing  the  manuscript  and  offering  helpful 
suggestions.  He  is  further  indebted  to  Dr.  J.  O.  Reavis, 
Rev.  L.  H.  Wharton,  Dr.  R.  E.  Vinson,  Dr.  S.  H.  Chester 
and  Dr.  T.  A.  Wharton  for  valuable  assistance  in  revising 
the  manuscript.  He  is  especially  grateful  to  the  Executive 
Committee  of  Foreign  Missions  for  the  publication  of  this 
book  and  to  their  Educational  Secretary  who  has  kindly 
agreed  to  superintend  its  printing  in  order  that  the  writer 
may  return  to  his  work  in  the  field. 

We  thank  the  relatives  of  Dr.  Morrison,  especially  his 
cousin,  Mrs.  R.  D.  Campbell,  who  has  given  many  interest- 
ing facts  regarding  his  early  life,  and  his  aunt,  Mrs.  Vir- 
ginia Gunn,  who  has  furnished  the  data  concerning  his 
ancestry. 

With  so  much  material  on  hand  it  would  have  been  easier 
to  write  a  larger  volume ;  but  for  obvious  reasons  it  has  been 
deemed  advisable  to  restrict  it  to  its  present  limits. 

T.  C.  V. 


CHAPTER  T 
lEarly  iCtfp 

Ancestry — Birth — "First  Impression  of  Africa" — Life  on  the  Farm 
— Early  Training — Preparing  for  the  Law  at  the  University — 
Teaching  School — The  Great  Decision — At  the  Theological  Semi- 
nary— Appointed  to  Africa — Departure  and  Dedicatory  Prayer. 

A  GREAT  man,  as  has  been  often  said,  begins  with  his 
grandparents.  And  certainly  Dr.  Morrison  was  blessed 
with  a  long  line  of  godly  ancestors.  His  paternal  ancestor, 
Samuel  Morrison,  moved  early  in  the  eighteenth  century 
from  Scotland  to  Londonderry,  Ireland,  on  account  of  his 
religious  beliefs.  There  were  three  sons  in  the  family, 
Robert,  William  and  Samuel,  all  of  whom  emigrated  to 
America  and  settled  in  Philadelphia  about  the  year  1750. 
William  and  Samuel  were  linen  merchants  and  came  over 
in  their  own  private  sailing  vessel.  Robert,  the  great- 
grandfather of  the  subject  of  this  book,  was  a  school 
teacher  and  pursued  his  profession  in  Philadelphia  for  a 
number  of  years.  He  was  a  veritable  giant,  about  six  feet 
four  inches  high  and  broad  in  proportion. 

He  married  Miss  Susan  Murek,  who  was  reared  in  Ger- 
many and  educated  at  the  University  of  Heidleburg.  Her 
ancestors  also  were  teachers  and  there  were  five  Presbyte- 
rian preachers  in  her  immediate  family.  Shortly  after  their 
marriage  they  moved  to  Staunton,  Va.,  and  later  to  Lexing- 
ton, Va.,  where  they  settled  on  a  farm.  This  union  was 
blessed  with  five  children. 

The  youngest  son,  Robert,  was  noted  for  his  piety  and 
the  high  qualities  of  his  character.  He  was  an  elder  in  the 
Monmouth  Presbyterian  church,  the  "right  arm  of  the 
church"  and  a  power  for  righteousness  in  the  commu- 
nity.   He  was  the  father  of  three  sons,  Luther.  Rufifner  and 


lo  Twenty  Years  in  Africa 

Culton.  The  eldest  son,  Luther,  inherited  the  farm  near 
Lexington  and  was  an  elder  in  the  Monmouth  church. 
He  married  Miss  Mary  Agnes  McCutchan,  of  Bath  County, 
Va.,  a  woman  beyond  praise.  There  were  eight  children  of 
this  union,  of  whom  William  McCutchan  was  the  oldest, 
born  on  November  lo,  1867. 

His  mother  was  especially  noted  for  her  piety  and  it  is 
said  that  her  pastor  often  sought  her  advice  in  his  pastoral 
work.  Three  of  William's  first  cousins  on  his  mother's 
side  were  missionaries  to  China.  William  was  consecrated 
to  the  gospel  ministry  from  his  birth  and  all  of  his  early 
training  was  directed  with  this  end  in  view.  Another  factor 
in  his  early  training  was  a  very  godly  aunt  on  his  father's 
side,  Mrs.  Susan  Crawford,  who  lived  in  the  family.  She 
took  a  special  interest  in  him  from  his  birth  and  taught  him 
as  few  children  are  taught. 

There  is  one  instance  in  his  early  life  that  Dr.  Morrison 
loved  to  tell.  When  he  was  a  very  small  boy  he  was  one 
day  watching  an  old  colored  man  cutting  wood  on  his  fa- 
ther's place.  He  began  to  amuse  himself  by  throwing  chips 
at  the  old  darkey's  head,  and  was  rebuked  again  and  again 
in  no  uncertain  terms.  The  impatience  of  the  old  "uncle" 
merely  added  to  the  enjoyment  of  the  situation,  and  the 
bombardment  was  continued  with  renewed  zeal.  But  the 
old  fellow's  patience  was  soon  exhausted,  with  the  result 
that  the  small  boy  was  turned  over  his  knee  and  given  a 
good  sound  spanking.  The  humiliation  of  this  treatment 
hurt  him  a  great  deal  more  than  the  blows  that  had  been 
administered,  and  William  ran  immediately  to  tell  his 
mother.  He  thought  that  she  would  mete  out  just  punish- 
ment to  the  offender.  But  his  mother  had  been  sitting  just 
inside  the  window  and  had  witnessed  the  entire  perform- 
ance with  the  result  that  William  was  given  a  stern  repri- 


William  McCutciian  Morrison  ii 

mand,  together  with  the  promise  that  a  severer  punishment 
would  be  given  him  in  case  he  should  be  so  thoughtless 
again.  "And  thus,"  Dr.  Morrison  would  add  with  a  merry 
laugh,  "Africa  made  quite  a  lasting  impression  on  me  the 
first  time  we  came  into  personal  contact." 

Here  we  may  remark,  as  Dr.  Morrison  so  often  did,  that 
Lexington  is  noted  for  the  good  feeling  that  exists  between 
the  white  and  colored  people  of  the  community,  a  feeling 
promoted  by  the  two  great  Southern  leaders,  Robert  E.  Lee 
and  Stonewall  Jackson,  It  was  in  such  an  atmosphere  as 
this  that  Dr.  Morrison  grew  up,  and  learned  to  deal  with 
colored  people.  This  experience  enabled  him  to  adapt  him- 
self readily  to  the  customs  and  characteristics  of  the  natives 
in  the  Congo. 

William  grew  to  manhood  in  the  quiet  retreat  of  his 
father's  plantation  and  received  his  training  along  those 
practical  lines  that  became  invaluable  to  him  in  later  life. 
He  learned  to  use  his  hands  and  was  not  at  a  loss  when 
called  upon  to  build  a  house  and  do  the  scores  of  other 
things  demanded  of  the  missionary  to  Africa.  He  was  a 
hard  worker  and  outdoor  exercise  developed  a  strong  body, 
with  broad  shoulders  and  splendid  chest.  Thus  he  laid  the 
foundation  for  that  remarkable  strength  and  endurance  that 
served  him  so  well  during  twenty  years  of  arduous  and  ex- 
acting labors  in  a  tropical  climate. 

He  received  his  early  training  in  the  home  and  in  the 
common  schools  of  the  community.  He  was  largely  re- 
sponsible for  the  organization  of  a  "debating  club"  and 
"singing  class"  in  the  little  country  school,  where  he  learned 
the  art  of  public  speaking  and  also  how  to  "raise  a  tune." 
These  things  may  have  seemed  unimportant  at  the  time, 
and  yet  they  were  a  part  of  his  unconscious  training  for  his 
future  work  in  life. 


12  Twenty  Years  in  Africa 

When  he  was  sixteen  years  of  age  he  entered  Washington 
and  Lee  University.  As  his  home  was  three  miles  in  the 
country  he  walked  in  to  his  classes  and  home  again  in  the 
afternoon.  This  kept  him  out  of  many  of  the  activities  of 
university  life,  but  he  always  came  back  on  Saturday  night 
to  attend  the  meetings  of  the  Washington  Literary  Society 
of  which  he  was  a  member.  During  his  second  year  in 
college  he  won  the  orators'  medal  in  an  inter-society  contest. 

We  are  told  by  one  of  his  fellow-students  in  the  Univer- 
sity that  there  was  nothing  especially  outstanding  in  his 
life  to  indicate  his  future  greatness,  except  the  fact  that  he 
was  a  good  student  and  was  a  regular  and  punctual  attend- 
ant on  all  his  classes.  However,  the  man  was  being  formed. 
"He  was  always  loyal  to  truth  and  conscience.  Give  him 
his  work  to  do  and  you  need  not  worry  about  it  further; 
he  would  do  his  job.  He  was  full  of  common  sense;  he 
was  always  jovial  and  happy  in  his  work  and  in  his  play." 

His  parents  had  consecrated  him  to  the  gospel  ministry 
and  had  directed  all  his  early  training  with  that  end  in  view, 
yet  young  Morrison  had  a  will  of  his  own.  He  had  chosen 
law  as  his  profession  and  looked  forward  to  this  through- 
out his  university  career.  This  doubtless  was  the  reason 
why  he  devoted  himself  to  the  training  in  public  speaking 
which  the  literary  society  offered.  In  fact,  he  did  not  even 
unite  with  the  church  until  his  university  days  were  nearly 
complete.  He  was  about  nineteen  years  of  age  when  his 
father  died,  and  his  death  seems  to  have  been  the  turning 
point  in  William's  career.  When  his  father  was  on  his 
death-bed  someone  asked  him  what  he  was  going  to  do 
about  William  since  he  had  consecrated  him  to  the  gospel 
ministry  and  he  was  not  yet  even  converted.  The  father 
replied  with  that  unfaltering  faith  that  had  characterized 
his   life,   "I   consecrated  William  to   God  and  have   never 


William  McCutchan  Morrison  13 

taken  him  back  and  in  God's  own  good  time  all  will  be 
well." 

It  was  then  that  William  surrendered  completely  to  God. 
He  had  been  fighting  the  call  to  the  ministry  throughout  his 
early  life,  for  he  had  said,  "for  me  to  preach  is  for  me  to 
be  a  missionary  and  I  don't  want  to  be  a  missionary."  But 
the  prayers  of  godly  parents  had  prevailed  and  William 
finally  consecrated  his  entire  life  to  God. 

Immediately  upon  his  graduation  from  the  University, 
at  the  early  age  of  twenty  years,  young  Morrison,  for  finan- 
cial reasons,  began  the  life  of  a  school  teacher.  He  followed 
this  profession  for  six  years  in  Searcy,  Ark.,  where  he 
endeared  himself  to  all  those  who  resided  in  this  little  city. 
Those  who  knew  him  there  still  speak  of  him  in  the  most 
afifectionate  terms.  This  training  in  pedagogy  was  another 
part  of  his  unconscious  preparation  for  his  work  in  the 
mission  field,  and  it  was  along  this  line  that  he  did  his  most 
effective  and  enduring  work  in  Africa.  At  this  time  he 
had  not  yet  given  vnp  the  hope  that  he  might  salve  his  con- 
science and  resist  the  call  to  the  ministry  and  pursue  his 
chosen  profession  of  the  law.  We  do  not  know  the  cir- 
cumstances that  finally  led  to  his  decision  to  study  for  the 
ministry.  We  do  know,  however,  that  there  was  no  "burn- 
ing bush"  or  audible  voice  or  Damascus  vision  that  came 
into  his  experience,  but  only  the  assured  conviction  tliat  lie 
was  fighting  against  God. 

Having  made  the  surrender  he  entered  the  Presbyterian 
Theological  Seminary  in  Louisville,  Ky.,  where  he  dis- 
tinguished himself  as  a  faithful  and  conscientious  student. 
During  his  seminary  course  he  was  facing  the  problem  of 
the  investment  of  his  life.  Just  prior  to  his  graduation 
he  read  an  article  in  the  "Missionary,"  written  by  one  of 
the  missionaries  at  Luebo,  Africa,  calling  the  attention  of 


14  Twenty  Years  in  Africa 

the  church  to  the  needs  and  opportunities  of  that  great 
field.  This  appeal  went  straight  home  to  his  heart;  it  came 
to  him  directly  as  a  call  from  God.  When  he  announced 
his  decision  to  the  congregation  in  Louisville,  where  he 
was  accustomed  to  worship,  he  learned  that  a  teacher  of 
little  girls  in  the  Sunday  School  had  read  this  same  article 
to  her  class  and  they  had  joined  in  prayer  that  he  might 
be  led  to  answer  this  call. 

Immediately  after  his  graduation  from  the  Seminary  Mr. 
Morrison  applied  to  the  Executive  Committee  of  Foreign 
Missions  and  was  appointed  a  missionary  to  Africa.  He 
was  licensed  and  ordained  by  the  Presbytery  of  Arkansas, 
under  whose  care  he  had  pursued  his  training  in  the 
Seminary. 

The  next  few  months  were  spent  in  deputation  work, 
visiting  different  churches  and  presenting  the  claims  of  the 
mission  field. 

•  He  left  his  home  in  Lexington  on  November  5,  1896,  for 
Philadelphia,  visiting  friends  and  relatives  en  route. 

The  secret  of  the  success  of  Dr.  Morrison  as  a  missionary 
leader  is  found  in  the  opening  words  of  his  diary  wherein 
he  dedicated  himself  in  prayer  to  God.  This  remarkably 
simple  and  earnest  prayer  is  quoted  in  full  as  it  will  give 
the  reader  an  insight  into  his  devotional  life.  H  we  bear 
the  several  petitions  constantly  in  mind,  we  shall  see  how 
they  were  fulfilled  and  answered  in  his  daily  life. 

"This  day  I  leave  home  and  mother,  brothers  and  sisters, 
and  many  hallowed  memories  of  home  and  native  land  and 
go  far  hence  to  the  Gentiles  in  obedience  to  the  command 
of  my  Master.  'Go  ye  into  all  the  world  and  preach  the 
Gospel  to  every  creature.'  This  desire  came  to  me,  through 
the  peculiar  dispensation  of  God's  providence,  about 
eighteen  months  ago.     I  have  every  reason  to  believe  that 


William  McCutchan  Morrison  15 

it  was  in  answer  to  the  prayers  of  some  little  children  in 
Louisville,  Ky.  As  I  enter  upon  this  great  and  trying  work 
my  prayer  is— O  God,  I  beseech  thee  to  give  me  an  abun- 
dant outpouring  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  making  my  own  life  an 
open  gospel,  an  epistle  known  and  read  of  all  men.  I  pray 
for  Thy  richest  blessing  to  rest  upon  the  people  to  whom 
I  shall  preach  the  unsearchable  riches  of  Christ;  open  their 
darkened  understandings,  may  Thy  truth  have  free  course 
and  may  many  be  brought  into  the  fold  of  Christ  through 
the  gospel  that  I  may  be  instrumental  in  preaching.  O  God, 
pour  out  Thy  Spirit  upon  Darkest  Africa,  and  may  the 
long  night  be  broken  and  may  the  brightness  of  the  Sun 
of  Righteousness  soon  illuminate  that  benighted  land. 

"Bless  the  laborers  in  the  field  and  richly  reward  their 
service  for  Thee. 

"Give  me,  O  God,  health  of  body,  vigor  of  mind  and 
above  all  purity  of  heart.  Help  me  to  bear  the  burdens, 
keep  me  ever  humble,  enable  me  to  love  all  men,  give  unto 
me  wisdom  and  discretion— Thou  hast  promised  that  those 

who  ask  Thee  for  wisdom  Thou  wilt  give  liberally— verify 

this  promise  unto  me. 

"Keep  me  during  the  perils  of  the  voyage,  deliver  me 

from  dangers  seen   and  unseen,  and  may  I   arrive  at  my 

destination  sound  in  body  and  in  every  way  fitted  for  the 

preaching  of  the  Gospel. 

"O  Lord,  help  me  to  overcome  the  sins  of  my  life— the 

besetting  sins — may  I  be  able  to  mortify  the  deeds  of  the 

flesh  and  to  grow  more  and  more  in  all  the  Christian  graces. 

O,  for  a  purer,  holier,  nobler,  loftier,  more  Christlike  life! 
"Bless  in  an  especial  manner  my  mother — comfort  her 

heart,  give  her  the  consolations  of  the  Gospel  and  may  she 

experience  a  rich  out-pouring  of  Thy  Spirit  in  her  heart. 

Give  special  blessings  at  this  time  to  all  my  brothers  and 


i6  Twenty  Years  in  Africa 

sisters  and  may  their  lives  be  given  fully  to  Thee.     I  thank 
Thee  that  they  have  all  confessed  Thee  as  their  Saviour. 

"O  Lord,  I  pray  for  the  church  universal  and  I  pray  for 
the  world  universal.  Open  Thy  truth  to  all  and  enable  me 
to  behold  wondrous  things  out  of  Thy  law-  -help  me  to 
search  the  Scriptures  and  give  me  ah  understanding  heart. 
I  ask  these  things  not  for  my  own  sake  but  solely  for 
Christ's  sake,  whose  atoning  blood  has  washed  away  my 
stain  and  renders  it  possible  for  me  to  approach  unto  the 
throne  of  grace  and  ask  these  blessings.     Amen." 


CHAPTER  II 

Sails  from  Philadelphia— The  Voyage  to  Liverpool— In  London— 
To  Antwerp— The  Voyage  to  Matadi— At  the  Canary  Islands- 
First  Glimpse  of  the  Dark  Continent— At  the  Swedish  Mission 
at  Matadi. 

The  first  stage  of  the  voyage  to  the  Congo  was  begun  on 
November  the  7th,  when  Morrison  sailed  from  Philadelphia. 
His  companion  m  travel  was  Mr.  J.  C.  Crowley,  who  had 
just  received  his  appointment  and  was  going  out  as  the 
business  manager  of  the  African  Mission.  From  November 
the  9th  on  to  the  end  of  the  voyage  Mr.  Morrison's  diary 
is  dotted  with  such  exclamations  as  these,  "Sick!  Awful 
sick!"  which  form  a  familiar  part  of  every  untried  seaman's 
vocabulary. 

He  recovered  sufficiently,  however,  during  the  voyage  to 
act  as  chairman  of  the  committee  on  arrangements  for  the 
concert  given  on  board  the  ship  for  the  benefit  of  the  Sea- 
men's Orphans'  Home. 

The  last  day  of  the  voyage  is  described  as  the  "most 
beautiful  of  all  with  a  sea  as  smooth  as  glass."  They  landed 
at  Liverpool  on  November  the  14th  and  proceeded  thence 
by  train  to  London  where  they  were  met  by  Mr.  Robert 
Whyte,  the  agent  for  the  Mission. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  Mr.  Morrison  v/as  going  to 
a  country  in  which  there  were  no  stores  of  any  kind  and 
he  was  to  be  absolutely  cut  off  from  all  the  conveniences 
of  modern  civilization.  This  is  true  to-day  to  a  very  great 
extent  and  the  missionary  must  still  look  after  his  own 
personal  supplies. 

Mr.  Morrison  spent  several  days  purchasing  an  outfit  and 
securing  supplies   sufficient   to  last  him    for  two   or  three 


i8  Twenty  Years  in  Africa 

years.  When  this  task  was  completed  the  few  days  left 
at  his  disposal  were  spent  in  visiting  some  of  the  places  of 
historic  interest  in  wonderful  old  London. 

On  the  evening  prior  to  his  departure  for  the  Congo  he 
went  to  the  East  London  Institute,  a  missionary  training 
school,  to  a  farewell  meeting  in  honor  of  Mr.  Armstrong, 
who  was  also  leaving  for  Africa,  and  they  became  com- 
panions in  travel.  They  departed  that  night  for  Harwich, 
crossing  the  English  Channel  on  a  "choppy  sea"  and  reach- 
ing Antwerp  the  next  morning.  They  had  secured  passage 
on  the  "Edward  Bohlen,"  but  had  great  difficulty  in  get- 
ing  on  board  on  account  of  a  throng  of  some  ten  thousand 
people,  who  had  assembled  to  see  the  boat  off,  and  were 
"rushing  and  crushing,  pushing,  chattering  and  gesticulat- 
ing in  the  usual  excitable  French  fashion."  Mr.  Morrison, 
after  this  struggle,  expressed  the  conviction  that  these  peo- 
ple could  get  up  more  excitement  over  the  departure  of  a 
single  vessel,  that  was  none  too  large  for  sea-going  pur- 
poses, than  Americans  or  English  could  possibly  muster 
over  the  departure  of  an  entire  fleet. 

"A  rough  sea,  the  stuffy  and  musty  cabins  and  the  abomi- 
nable German  cooking,  with  eight  courses  of  meat  swim- 
ming in  grease"  together  with  a  very  severe  storm,  added 
nothing  to  the  pleasure  of  the  voyage.  Another  vessel 
sailing  on  the  same  day  went  down  in  this  storm  off  the 
coast  of  Cape  Finisterre,  but  theirs  was  providentially 
spared.  Morrison  took  all  these  unpleasant  experiences  in 
his  usual  good  tempered  fashion  and  we  read  in  his  diary, 
"You  will  notice  that  there  is  a  hiatus  of  several  days  in 
my  diary;  yes  and  there  is  a  hiatus  somewhere  else,  too." 

They  reached  the  Canary  Islands,  where  they  stopped 
to  coal,  after  a  two  weeks'  voyage.  The  passengers  were 
given  the  opportunity  of  going  on  shore  to  refresh  them- 


William  McCutciian  Morrison  19 

selves  on  the  beautiful  island  and  to  secure  a  good  whole- 
some meal  at  an  English  hotel. 

Again  referring  to  his  diary  we  read  these  words,  "When 
I  reached  the  ship,  which  lay  at  anchor  in  the  harbor,  I 
looked  back  upon  the  view,  which  lay  before  me,  and  it 
was  one  of  the  most  enchanting  sights  I  have  ever  seen; 
a  beautiful  land-locked  harbor,  crescent  shaped,  teeming 
with  ships  of  every  nation,  small  steam  craft  and  canoes; 
the  shore  skirted  with  white  buildings  with  the  main  part 
of  the  town  far  off  to  the  left  and  arranged  in  tiers  up  the 
mountain  side ;  then  in  the  background  a  magniticent  spec- 
tacle of  mountain  upon  mountain  and  peak  upon  peak 
towering  six  thousand  feet  into  the  air.  Surely  I  have 
never  before  beheld  such  a  strange,  fascinating  view.  As 
the  sun  was  setting  beyond  the  distant  mountain  ranges, 
as  the  fleecy  clouds  stretched  their  blankets  upon  the  peak 
tops  or  dipped  into  the  dark  shadows  of  the  valleys,  and 
showed  their  edges  fringed  with  gold  and  silver  and  ame- 
thyst— it  was  indeed  a  view  long  to  be  remembered. 
•  "After  reaching  the  ship,  we  were  informed  by  an 
Englishman,  who  lives  in  the  town,  that  it  was  well  that 
we  made  no  display  of  being  Americans,  for  the  Spaniards 
are  now  in  a  veritable  frenzy  against  the  United  States  on 
account  of  the  Cuban  trouble.  I  can  only  say  that  if  Las 
Palmas  is  a  type  of  Spanish  civilization,  then  the  sooner 
Cuba  is  freed  from  the  thraldom  of  such  a  power  the  better 
— though  I  doubt  if  they  would  be  able  to  govern  themselves 
with  much  success." 

After  this  most  pleasant  and  refreshing  day  spent  on  the 
island  they  weighed  anchor  and  were  off  on  the  last  stage 
of  the  long  voyage.  On  the  night  of  December  the  i8th 
three  light  houses  were  sighted  on  Cape  Verde,  the  first 
glimpse  of  the  Dark  Continent.     The  little  group  of  Chris- 


20 


Twenty  Years  in  Africa 


tians  on  board  met  in  Mr.  Morrison's  cabin  and  he  con- 
ducted a  service  of  thanksgiving  for  God's  protecting  care 
over  them. 

The  Remainder  of  the  voyage  on  the  southern  seas  was 
quiet  and  uneventful.  They  landed  at  Boma.  the  Capital 
of  the  Congo  Independent  State,  on  December  the  31st. 
In  those  early  days  the  ocean  going  vessels  did  not  attempt 
to  ascend  the  Congo  to  Matadi,  on  account  of  the  gigantic 
"Devil's  Caldron,"  which  is  formed  where  the  entire  volume 
of  this  mighty  river  is  forced  into  a  very  narrow  passage 
between  two  perpendicular  cliffs.  Passengers  disembarked 
at  Boma  and  awaited  a  smaller  vessel  from  Matadi,  and 
several  days  later  they  arrived  at  the  "Gateway  of  Central 
Africa." 

There  were  no  hotels  at  that  time  worthy  of  the  name, 
so  Dr.  Morrison  and  his  companions  were  entertained  at 
the  Swedish  Mission  for  a  few  days  while  making  the  final 
preparations  for  the  long  journey  into  the  heart  of  Africa. 


CHAPTER  III 

©lie  3lounipy  to  IGufbo 

On  the  Congo  Railroad — Scenery  along  the  Way — Traveling  by 
Caravan — In  the  Midst  of  Sickness  and  Death  at  Leopoldville — 
On  the  River  Steamer  for  Luebo — Thanksgiving  at  the  End  of 
the  Voyage. 

By  a  peculiar  freak  of  nature  the  mighty  Congo  River 
is  blocked  to  traffic  for  two  hundred  and  fifty  miles  above 
Matadi.  The  river,  in  seeking  an  outlet  to  the  sea,  plunges 
down  steep  declines  and  through  narrow  gorges  forming  a 
series  of  cataracts  beautiful  to  behold  but  creating  an  im- 
passable barrier  to  navigation.  To  overcome  this  natural 
barrier  and  to  tap  the  resources  of  the  interior,  a  narrow 
guage  railroad  was  projected  from  Matadi  to  the  upper 
stretches  of  the  river.  This  railroad,  when  Mr.  Morrison 
arrived  in  the  country,  was  still  under  construction,  less 
than  one  half  of  it  being  completed  and  under  operation. 

On  the  morning  of  January  the  13th  we  find  him  buying 
a  ticket  to  Tumba,  a  distance  of  about  one  hundred  miles, 
for  the  "snug  little  sum  of  forty-five  dollars,"  or  eleven 
dollars  more  than  the  passage  from  Philadelphia  to  Liver- 
pool. This  railroad  was  and  still  is,  the  only  one  in  this 
part  of  Africa  and  therefore  they  regulate  their  own  rates 
without  fear  of  competition.  The  rates  have  been  slightly 
reduced  since  that  time  but  they  are  still  exorbitantly  high 
and  continue  to  be  a  drain  on  the  finances  of  the  Mission. 

The  accommodations  were  practically  nil,  each  passenger 
having  to  furnish  his  own  meals,  drinking  water  and  all 
other  necessities  of  life. 

Mr.  Morrison  describes  the  scenery  along  the  way  as 
follows : 


22  Twenty  Years  in  Africa 

"The  train  is  booked  to  leave  at  6:30  a.m.  but  catching 
the  spirit  of  Congo  Hfe  it  is  an  hour  late  in  starting. 
Finally  the  whistle  of  the  little  engine  blows  a  shrill  note, 
I  bid  my  Swedish  friends  good-bye  and  am  off  into  the 
heart  of  Africa.  The  train  is  composed  of  a  small  engine, 
said  to  be  American  make,  a  'luggage  van'  with  a  tarpaulin 
cover,  and  a  passenger  coach  with  seats  for  nine.  The  road 
is  narrow  gauge,  exceedingly  narrow,  but  well  ballasted  and 
having  iron  ties  on  account  of  the  destructive  white  ants. 

"We  have  now  passed  the  limits  of  the  town  and  are  in 
the  midst  of  some  of  the  most  rugged  mountain  scenery 
I  have  ever  beheld.  For  five  miles,  perhaps,  we  skirt  the 
Congo  River,  clinging  to  the  sides  of  the  overhanging  cliffs. 
A  magnificent  view,  the  boiling,  foaming,  rushing  torrent 
of  the  mighty  Congo,  penned  in  between  two  mountains  and 
restless  for  freedom.  The  opposite  shore  and  tableland 
are  covered  with  green  grass,  with  the  blue  mountains 
rising  hundreds  of  feet  into  the  air,  far  in  the  dim  distance. 
Yonder  in  the  distance  towers  a  giant  monolith,  resembling 
the  pictures  of  the  Matterhorn — certainly  the  grandest 
mountain  scenery  I  have  ever  beheld. 

"It  was  no  small  engineering  feat  to  put  this  road 
through,  some  of  the  grades  being  at  an  angle  of  at  least 
twenty  degrees. 

"This  in  an  interesting  region  from  a  geological  stand- 
point. This  region  was  doubtless  once  a  sea  beach  and 
afterwards  pushed  up  through  internal  contraction  of  the 
earth.  Nature  has  indeed  a  wonderland  here ;  the  interior 
earth  has  pushed  up  a  mass  of  mountains,  running  water 
has  chiselled  it  into  myriad  forms,  the  rains  and  dew  have 
painted  it  a  rich  green,  while  the  sunbeams  have  mosaiced 
the  whole  with  red  tinted  flowers. 


William  McCutciian  Morrison  23 

"As  we  near  Tumba,  great  masses  of  weather-beaten 
granite  are  seen  scattered  over  the  plains. 

"Having  no  'tender'  to  carry  water  we  have  to  stop  every 
three-quarters  of  an  hour  during  the  whole  distance  for 
watering.  I  have  not  seen  a  living  thing  during  the  whole 
day  save  the  men  about  the  little  railroad  stations  which 
we  passed.  There  are  no  depots,  only  a  rude  hut  where  the 
native  agent  lives. 

"Now  we  are  at  Tumba  at  7:30  p.m.,  twelve  hours  mak- 
ing one  hundred  miles.  Here  I  am  met  by  Phipps,  a  colored 
missionary,  who  was  occupying  our  small  transport  station. 
I  am  taken  to  his  quarters,  consisting  of  a  small  house 
8  by  10  feet  made  of  tin  or  rather  imported  iron.  After 
supper  we  chat  awhile  and  then  go  to  bed.  I  occupy 
Phipps'  bed  and  he  sleeps  on  the  floor— certainly  all  social 
and  color  distinctions  are  gone  now." 

Many  days  were  spent  at  Tumba  in  securing  a  sufficient 
number  of  men  to  make  up  a  caravan,  "the  necessity  and 
despair  of  every  African  traveller."  Finally  they  succeeded 
in  getting  together  eighteen  men  and  Mr.  Morrison  h^d 
his  first  introduction  to  travel  in  the  primitive  African 
style  in  a  hammock  carried  on  the  heads  or  shoulders  of 
native  men.  This  trip  was  made  along  the  regular  route 
established  by  the  government  of  the  Congo  Independent 
State.  While  on  the  journey  he  got  his  first  glimpse  of 
the  State's  inhuman  methods  of  dealing  with  the  native 
people.  He  passed  many  caravans  composed  of  men  and 
even  little  boys,  heavily  laden  and  groaning  under  burdens 
of  rubber  and  ivory,  on  their  way  to  enrich  the  coffers  of 
the  cruel  master  of  the  Congo.  Quite  frequently  human 
skeletons  were  .seen  lying  unburied  by  the  road  side,  and 
now  and  then  foul  odors  attracted  his  attention,  testifying 
to  the  horrible   fact  that  another  human  victim  had  been 


24  Twenty  Years  in  Africa 

heartlessly  sacrificed  to  the  god  of  gold  set  up  by  Leopold, 
king  of  Belgium,  before  whom  the  native  must  bow  down 
or  die. 

In  marked  contrast  to  this  repulsive  condition  was  the 
little  caravan  with  which  Mr.  Morrison  was  travelling. 
Most  of  them  were  Christians,  and  he  became  very  fond 
of  them.  "It  was  almost  worth  a  trip  to  Africa  to  see  these 
half  naked  boys  of  the  forest,  but  lately  heathen,  now  sing- 
ing praise  to  God  and  pleading  with  their  brethren  to  accept 
the  Saviour  they  had  found.  I  believe  that  some  of  the 
men  in  the  caravan  had  never  heard  of  Christ.  They  lis- 
tened as  if  it  were  a  new  story  to  them.  I  did  so  long  to 
speak  to  them,  but  my  tongue  was  tied  by  a  language  that 
I  did  not  know.  I  tried,  however,  to  make  my  poor,  im- 
perfect life  speak  for  Christ-— it  was  all  I  could  do." 

The  overland  journey  was  not  accomplished  without 
hardships  and  vexations.  They  were  travelling  in  the  midst 
of  the  rainy  season  and  were  frequently  drenched.  They 
had  to  swim  many  heavily  swollen  streams  infested  with 
crocodiles.  Time  was  and  still  is  no  object  to  the  African. 
Quite  frequently  the  men  of  the  caravan  would  deposit 
their  burdens  in  the  middle  of  the  road  and  go  ofif  to  some 
village  two  or  three  miles  in  the  distance  to  a  native  market. 
The  result  was  that  it  took  twelve  days  to  make  the  journey 
to  Leopoldville,  a  distance  of  about  one  hundred  and  fifty 
miles,  reaching  there  just  too  late  to  catch  the  steamer  for 
Luebo.  This  was  a  great  trial  and  disappointment  to  Mr. 
Morrison,  as  it  meant  many  long  weeks  of  weary  waiting 
for  the  next  boat.  He  was  anxous  to  press  on  as  quickly 
as  possible  and  settle  down  to  his  work. 

He  describes  his  stay  at  Leopoldville  in  his  first  letter 
written  to  the  "Missionary'"  as  follows :  "Here,  with  Dr. 
Sims,  I  have  been  in  the  midst  of  sickness  and  death,  five 


William  McCutciian  Morrison  25 

white  men  having  died  in  as  man)'  weeks.  How  sad  to  see 
these  poor  men  die  here  in  a  far-away  land,  with  no  loved 
one  to  shed  a  tear  at  their  departure !  In  the  state  cemetery 
there  is  a  grave  at  the  head  of  which  stands  a  board  bearing 
simply  the  words,  'May  vSnyder,  1896.'  But  no  eulogy  or 
epitaph  is  needed.  Standing  over  the  last  resting  place  of 
this  sainted  heroine,  I  thought  of  her  self-sacrificing  life, 
of  her  consecration  and  devotion  to  duty,  of  her  willingness 
to  stay  at  her  post  at  Luebo  till  the  last  hope  of  relief  had 
gone,  of  her  heroism  that  is  worthy  to  place  her  name  high 
among  the  list  of  missionary  martyrs;  then  I  thought  of 
the  boys  and  girls  at  Luebo  whom  she  had,  by  her  life  of 
purity  and  holiness,  pointed  to  the  Saviour,  and  I  knew 
more  fully  the  meaning  of  the  words,  'He  that  loseth  his 
life  for  my  sake  shall  find  it.'  Our  church  is  now  more 
closely  than  ever  knit  to  Africa,  for  in  her  soil  now  lie 
Lapsley,  Mrs.  Adamson  and  Mrs.  Snyder.  Precious  seed ! 
May  it  bear  an  abundant  harvest  in  this  dark,  dark  land ! 
But  we  sorely  need  more  harvesters.  Who  will  come  over 
and  help  us?  And  who,  'while  tarrying  with  the  stuff,' 
will  send?" 

Here  Mr.  Morrison  sufifered  his  first  attack  of  African 
fever,  brought  on  by  exposure  during  the  overland  journey. 
Food  of  any  kind  was  very  scarce  and  delicacies  suitable 
for  the  sick  were  practically  unknown.  The  fever  contin- 
ued at  105  degrees  for  many  days  and  they  despaired  of 
his  life.  But  finally  some  one  brought  him  a  cup  of  fresh 
cow's  milk,  and  on  drinking  this  he  began  to  mend  and 
rapidly  recovered  his  former  health.  Thus  God  put  His 
seal  of  approval  upon  the  conviction  that  He  had  called 
him  to  labor  in  this  portion  of  His  vineyard  and  assured 
him  of  the  fact  that  "Man  is  immortal  till  his  work  is  done." 

At  last  the  long  expected  steamer  arrived,  and  Mr.  Mor- 


26  Twenty  Years  in  Africa 

lison,  together  with  Phipps,  secured  passage  to  Luebo. 
Mr.  Crowley  was  left  behind  at  Tumba  to  assume  the  duties 
of  business  manager  of  the  Mission  and  look  after  the 
transportation  of  the  supplies.  The  journey  of  some  nine 
hundred  miles  on  the  waters  of  the  Congo,  Kasai  and  Lulua 
Rivers,  amid  the  varied  beauty  of  the  tropical  scenery,  was 
accomplished  in  a  few  weeks'  time.  They  arrived  at  their 
destination  on  May  the  7th,  1897,  having  been  on  the  way 
six  months. 

Mr.  Morrison  again  writes:  "Luebo,  hallelujah!  All 
well  and  all  here.  They  report  the  work  in  a  most  flourish- 
ing condition,  with  five  hundred  at  church  last  Sunday. 
Oh,  for  a  full  demonstration  of  the  Spirit's  power!  I  am 
delighted  with  the  surroundings,  though  I  have  only  seen 
the  place  by  twilight.  Praise  the  Lord  for  bringing  me  here 
in  peace  and  safety." 


CHAPTER  IV 

Haborfi  at  3battri|f 

(June,  1897— April,  1898) 

Picture  of  Luebo  at  the  Time  of  His  Arrival— Established  at 
Ibanche— A  New  Name— Mastering  the  Language— Difficulties  to 
Be  Faced  in  Bible  Translation— Studying  the  Customs  of  the  Peo- 
ple—Burial of  a  Chief— Forced  to  Abandon  Ibanche — Hostile 
Attitude  of  the  State  toward  Protestant  Missions. 

When  Mr.  Morrison  reached  Luebo,  the  Mission  con- 
sisted of  one  station,  occupied  by  eight  missionaries,  three 
of  whom  were  white;  one  Sabbath  School,  with  an  enroll- 
ment of  fifty;  one  day  school  with  an  average  attendance 
of  forty-six  and  one  organized  church  of  forty-eight  com- 
municant members.  The  equipment  consisted  of  four  or 
five  small  missionary  residences  made  of  mud  and  sticks, 
a  small  church  shed  which  also  served  as  a  school  building, 
a  general  store  in  which  the  barter  goods  and  other  neces- 
sary articles  were  kept  and  a  few  other  minor  buildings. 
These  were  all  built  in  the  midst  of  the  primeval  forest, 
as  the  station  compound  had  not  yet  been  cleared. 

Prior  to  the  arrival  of  Mr.  Morrison  in  the  field,  the 
Mission  had  secured  the  temporary  right  to  open  a  new 
station  at  Ibanche,  some  forty  miles  to  the  north  of  Luebo 
and  within  the  confines  of  the  Bakuba  kingdom.  This 
station  was  first  occupied  by  Rev.  W.  H.  Sheppard  and 
wife  and  Rev.  Joshua  Phipps.  Early  in  1897  the  Sheppards 
left  for  America  on  furlough,  Phipps  was  returned  to 
Luebo  and  Mr.  Morrison  was  assigned  to  Ibanche.  He  set 
to  work  with  a  vim,  clearing  oflf  the  station  and  erecting 
temporary  quarters  for  himself.  The  Bakuba  people  about 
the  station  were  not  over  industrious,  and  Morrison  had 
to  build  his  house  of  sticks  and  grass  with  his  own  hands. 


28  Twenty  Years  in  Africa 

It  was  a  small  structure,  12x15  feet;  "pretty  close  quar- 
ters," he  writes,  "but  more  than  my  Master  had." 

One  of  the  first  thuigs  demanded  of  the  missionary  to 
Africa  is  the  adoption  of  a  new  name,  since  it  is  quite  im- 
possible for  the  natives  to  pronounce  our  English  names. 
In  the  giving  of  names  the  natives  of  central  Africa  are 
not  unlike  the  ancient  Hebrews,  in  that  a  person  may  re- 
ceive his  title  from  some  characteristic  which  he  possesses. 
The  people  are  also  great  on  namesakes,  and  quite  frequent- 
ly the  missionary  may  be  named  for  some  prominent  chief 
or  other  distinguished  personage  in  the  realm.  In  this 
respect  the  native  logic  is  very  peculiar,  especially  when 
applied  to  the  missionary.  If  he  is  named  for  some  great 
man  in  the  realm  he  must  show  his  appreciation  of  the 
fact  by  presenting  a  gift  to  the  man  for  whom  he  is  named. 
Also,  when  the  missionary  has  gained  enough  distinction 
among  the  people  to  have  some  newly  born  babe  named  for 
him,  he  must  manifest  his  appreciation  of  this  honor  by 
presenting  his  namesake  with  a  gift.  Mr.  Morrison  was 
fortunate  enough  to  be  named  according  to  the  first  method, 
but  his  financial  obligations  were  increased  by  a  multitude 
of  namesakes. 

Shortly  after  his  arrival  at  Ibanche  he  returned  to  Luebo 
on  business.  During  his  absence  war  broke  out  between 
two  of  the  tribes  to  the  north  of  Luebo.  These  tribes  lived 
on  the  main  highway  between  Ibanche  and  Luebo  and 
communication  between  the  two  places  was  cut  off.  /his 
condition  of  affairs  resulted  in  considerable  financial  foss 
to  the  people  in  the  region  of  Ibanche,  for  Luebo  was  a 
great  commercial  center  and  traders  from  all  sections  were 
gathered  there  at  the  market  on  Saturdays. 

When  the  conflict  had  quieted  down  Mr.  Morrison  very 
cautiously  returned  to  Ibanche.     While  en  route  he  called 


William  McCutciian  Morrison  29 

ill  the  contending  parties  and  succeeded  in  making  peace 
between  them.  When  he  reached  Ibanche  the  good  news 
had  spread  far  and  wide,  and  people  came  in  from  all  sec- 
tions to  congratulate  him  and  to  thank  him  for  opening  the 
path  to  traffic.  And  as  they  were  leaving  they  said  to  him, 
"kuonyi  nshila,"  or  "Don't  let  the  path  get  closed  again"; 
thus  Dr.  Morrison  received  this  expression  as  his  native 
name.  Time  proved  him  to  be  not  only  a  true  peace-maker, 
but  also  one  who  opened  up  new  paths  for  them. 

The  Mission,  at  this  stage  of  its  history,  had  no  definite 
policy  of  working  among  tribes  of  a  common  language. 
The  burdens  of  the  new  missionary  w^ere  manifestly  in- 
creased in  an  effort  to  acquire  a  smattering  of  two  or  three 
dialects.  No  one  had  done  any  systematic  work  on  any 
particular  language,  and  the  only  literature  Morrison  had 
at  his  disposal  was  a  small  dictionary  of  a  few  hundred 
words.  Now  the  Mission  was  beginning  to  set  its  face 
toward  the  great  Bakuba  Kingdom,  with  the  hope  of  ulti- 
mately concentrating  all  its  efforts  upon  that  tribe.  In 
accordance  with  this  plan,  Morrison  began  a  systematic 
study  of  that  language.  He  faithfully  applied  his  great 
intellect  and  natural  linguistic  gifts  to  this  task.  He  was 
a  methodical  student  and  kept  a  careful  record  of  all  his 
findings.  The  result  was  that  within  a  very  few  months 
after  his  arrival  he  was  able  to  preach  in  the  Bakuba  lan- 
guage and  experienced  great  joy  when  the  people  began  to 
ask  intelligent  questions  concerning  his  discourses.  He 
organized  classes  for  those  who  expressed  a  desire  to  be- 
come Christians.  This  daily  contact  with  the  people  was 
mutually  beneficial,  in  that  he  was  able  to  teach  them  the 
truths  of  the  gospel  and  at  the  same  time  study  their  lan- 
guage and  obtain  some  insight  into  their  characters  and 
modes  of  thought. 


30  Twenty  Years  in  Africa 

He  was  ever  looking  forward  to  Bible  translation,  know- 
ing that  the  "sword  of  the  Spirit"  is  the  only  effective 
weapon  the  missionary  has  at  his  disposal.  In  beginning 
this  task  he  found  himself  face  to  face  with  almost  insur- 
mountable difficulties.  He  refers  to  these  in  his  diary :  "I 
am  almost  oppressed  with  discouragement  when  I  think  of 
Bible  translation.  Three  great  monsters  arise  before  me 
in  the  darkness :  first  of  all,  my  work  is  with  the  very 
bottom  of  humanity — perhaps  as  low  as  the  lowest,  with 
an  unbroken  history  of  perhaps  thousands  of  years  of  ig- 
norance, superstition  and  spiritual  darkness.  Another  diffi- 
culty is  the  fact  that  all  the  customs,  manners,  pursuits  and 
minds  of  the  people  are  so  different  from  the  people  de- 
scribed in  Bible  history.  The  worst  of  it  is  that  these 
people  can  form  no  conception  of  these  strange  customs  and 
circumstances.  But  perhaps  the  greatest  obstacle  of  all 
and  the  most  discouraging  is  the  fact  that  after  I  have 
spent  many  weary  years  in  translation  work,  not  one  man 
can  read  a  word  of  what  I  have  written.  In  the  majority 
of  mission  lands,  the  people  can  read  and  a  great  w^ork  can 
be  done  at  once  in  translating  the  Bible  and  in  writing 
religious  tracts.  But  here  in  poor  Africa  that  important 
means  of  spreading  the  Truth  can  not  be  employed.  In 
fact,  I  have  not  seen  a  single  character  that  seems  to  indi- 
cate the  most  remote  conception  of  a  written  language." 

Dr.  Morrison  soon  began  to  form  his  own  ideas  and  ideals 
as  to  the  method  best  suited  to  the  prosecution  of  the  work 
in  Africa,  and  these  methods  gradually  became  the  policy 
of  the  Mission  and  continue  in  use  until  the  present  day. 
He  further  writes  in  his  diary :  "In  view  of  the  difficulties 
before  mentioned,  I  am  thoroughly  convinced  that  our  first 
work  should  be  in  the  school,  then  follow  this  up  with  cate- 
chisms for  general  religious  instruction  of  all  people  whom 


William  McCutchan  Morrison  31 

it  is  possible  to  reach;  then  paraphrase  the  Scriptures  and 
last,  but  not  least,  the  Bible."  He  maintained  that  the 
school  should  be  conducted  with  a  zeal  and  with  a  fixed 
purpose  to  make  something  out  of  it.  He  also  urged  that 
special  attention  should  be  paid  to  those  who  showed  apt- 
ness to  learn.  The  best  of  these  were  to  be  selected  and 
given  personal  attention  with  a  view  of  leading  them  to 
religious  work  and  ultimately  into  the  ministry.  He  real- 
ized that  the  most  effective  method  for  the  propagation  of 
truth  was  that  which  our  Lord  employed — namely,  a  great 
leader  coming  into  intimate  contact  with  a  band  of  chosen 
disciples. 

Mr.  Morrison  took  advantage  of  every  opportunity  to 
study  the  customs  and  characteristics  of  the  people  to  obtain 
a  deeper  insight  into  their  lives.  Soon  after  reaching 
Ibanche  he  attended  a  native  funeral  and  observed  what  the 
native  conduct  was  in  the  presence  of  death.  He  relates 
his  impressions  as  follows :  "Early  this  morning  I  heard 
the  blowing  of  horns  and  other  peculiar  noises  so  went  out 
to  see  what  it  meant.  I  found  the  town  all  agog.  Children 
were  dressed  in  their  best,  the  ladies  had  adorned  their 
'Sunday-go-to-meetin's,'  and  the  men,  not  to  be  behind  the 
procession,  had  diked  themselves  in  their  finest.  Some  of 
the  men  were  gotten  up  in  the  most  outlandish  and  frightful 
costumes,  consisting  of  native  cloth  of  various  colors, 
animal  skins,  feathers,  charms,  medicines,  bells,  knives, 
spears,  with  cowrie  shell  and  bead  work  on  the  ankles  and 
heads  and  with  the  face  and  other  bare  parts  of  the  body 
painted  red,  white  and  black.  These  men  were  rushing 
about  the  streets,  gesticulating  wildly  and  wielding  big  cut- 
lasses and  looking  the  personification  of  satanic  savagery. 
I  found  upon  inquiry  that  the  people  were  all  going  to  a 
nearby  village  to  have  a  big  dance  in  honor  of  a  dead  chief. 
—2— 


32  Twenty  Years  in  Africa 

Though  it  was  now  about  noon  and  intensely  hot,  yet  1 
thought  it  my  duty  to  be  informed  as  far  as  possible  con- 
cerning the  customs  of  the  people,  so  I  concluded  to  go  over 
and  see  the  performance.  Upon  my  arrival  there  I  found 
several  sheds  erected  in  the  open  square,  with  mats  laid  on 
the  ground  for  the  accommodation  of  the  spectators.  In 
one  of  these  sheds  sat  the  corpse  on  an  elevated  platform 
and  in  an  erect  posture.  The  body  was  wrapped  in  fine 
native  cloth  with  bead  and  cowrie  work  in  abundance.  On 
the  platform  lay  the  man's  spear,  bow  and  arrows,  cutlass 
and  other  trinkets.  Under  and  about  the  central  platform 
the  people,  to  the  number  of  several  hundred,  were  dancing 
in  that  unbecoming  style  characteristic  of  the  Bakuba. 
They  all  seemed  to  be  enjoying  the  sport  immensely  and, 
I  think,  would  be  glad  to  have  a  man  die  every  day  of  the 
week  for  the  sake  of  the  dance. 

"A  number  of  men  were  sitting  under  the  shed,  near  the 
corpse  and  seemed  to  have  charge  of  it.  At  their  invitation 
I  sat  among  them,  as  the  body  had  not  yet  begun  to  decom- 
pose. I  saw  no  evidence  whatever  of  sorrow.  I  think  the 
sorrowing  part  takes  place  at  night  and  is  done  by  the 
women. 

"Nearly  all  the  people  who  went  from  the  village  took 
cloth,  beads,  etc.,  to  put  in  the  grave  of  the  dead  man.  I 
was  told  that  he  would  not  be  buried  for  five  days,  so  de- 
cided not  to  remain.  It  is  also  reported  that  four  Baluba 
slaves  are  to  be  killed  and  buried  beside  him.  The  Bakuba 
seem  to  realize  that  this  is  a  hideous  and  revolting  crime, 
and  I  have  not  been  able  to  get  much  information  out  of 
them  about  it." 

Some  days  later  he  went  back  to  the  village  and  found 
that  the  funeral  had  not  taken  place,  but  "the  body  had 
been  put  into  a  large  neat  coffin,  which  resembled  in  appear- 


William  McCutchan  Morrison  33 

ance  a  small  hut.  The  frame  work  seemed  to  be  of  bamboo, 
while  the  sides  and  top  were  made  of  fine  mats  cut  into 
proper  shape.  Under  the  sheds  near  the  coffin  I  found 
groups  of  people  to  whom  I  tried,  in  my  broken  way,  to  tell 
the  Gospel  story  and  endeavored  to  impress  upon  them 
the  need  of  salvation.  I  used  the  case  of  the  dead  man  to 
explain  the  origin  of  death,  which  to  these  poor  people 
is  the  mystery  of  mysteries.  I  also  tried  to  show  them  the 
folly  of  burying  cowries,  beads,  cloth,  etc.,  with  the  corpse, 
to  say  nothing  of  killing  slaves;  but  from  all  appearances 
they  preferred  to  believe  a  lie.  Verily,  the  devil  has  blinded 
their  eyes  and  stopped  their  ears. 

"I  was  told  that  the  burial  would  take  place  in  the  after- 
noon so  I  returned  home  for  dinner  with  the  hope  of  going 
back  immediately,  but  a  threatening  rain  prevented  my  doing 
so.  By  the  time  the  rain  was  over  and  I  had  walked  back 
to  the  village  the  obsequies  were  finished.  I  was  unable  to 
get  at  the  exact  facts  regarding  the  killing  of  the  slaves. 
The  Bakuba  all  deny  it,  while  the  Baluba  just  as  strenuously 
affirm  it.  It  is  my  impression,  however,  that  no  slaves  are 
killed  by  anyone  save  Lukenga,  the  King  of  the  Bakuba, 
who  demands  a  monopoly  of  the  business." 

A  strong  bond  of  mutual  friendship  sprang  up  between 
Mr.  Morrison  and  the  Bakuba  people.  It  was  therefore  a 
great  trial  and  disappointment  to  him  when,  after  a  few 
months'  residence  among  them,  he  received  peremptory 
notice  from  the  State  that  the  station  at  Ibanche  must  be 
vacated  within  fifteen  days.  Similar  orders  were  received 
at  the  same  time  at  a  new  station  that  had  just  been  opened 
at  Ndombe,  to  the  southwest  of  Luebo.  This  is  one  of  the 
most  discouraging  and  unjust  conditions  with  which  the 
Protestant  Missions  in  the  Congo  have  always  had  to  deal ; 
and  this,   notwithstanding  the   fact  that  absolute  religious 


34  Twenty  Years  in  Africa 

freedom  is  guaranteed  in  the  "Treaty  of  Berlin,"  on  which 
the  Congo  Independent  State  was  founded.  We  regret  to 
say  that  this  guarantee  never  has  been  fulfilled,  so  far  as 
this  particular  Mission  is  concerned.  To-day,  after  thirty 
years  of  labor  for  the  uplift  of  the  native  people,  we  can 
secure  the  site  for  a  mission  station  only  after  the  strongest 
protests  and  a  prolific  correspondence,  often  covering  a 
period  of  several  years.  The  first  letter  that  Mr.  Morrison 
wrote  to  a  State  official  was  a  protest  against  the  abandon- 
ment of  these  two  stations,  and  almost  the  last  official  letter 
he  wrote,  twenty  years  later,  was  against  a  similar  condition 
in  regard  to  one  of  the  stations  in  the  Baluba  country. 

In  the  case  of  Ibanche,  the  Mission  only  held  a  temporary 
right  to  occupy  the  land,  and  as  the  State  was  absolute  in 
its  authority  there  was  no  recourse  open  for  Mr.  Morrison 
but  to  obey  the  order. 

In  regard  to  this  situation.  Dr.  Chester  wrote  in  the 
"Missionary"  as  follows :  "This  refusal  of  the  State  to  grant 
our  American  Mission  what  is  being  frequently  granted 
Belgian  and  French  Catholic  Missions  is  a  clear  and  open 
violation  of  the  Constitution  of  the  Free  State  and  the 
Treaty  of  Berlin.  This  unjust  and  unconstitutional  action 
on  the  part  of  the  State  authorities  is  felt  in  England  as 
well  as  in  this  country.  It  looks  as  if  the  State  authorities 
were  determined  to  so  cramp  our  prosperous  little  mission 
that  we  should  be  forced  to  abandon  it.  The  prayers  of 
God's  people  should  constantly  go  up  to  Him,  that  He  would 
incline  the  hearts  of  King  Leopold  and  his  advisers  to  do 
that  which  is  right." 


CHAPTER  V 

iEarIg  Slabora  at  ICurbo 

Return  to  Luebo  with  Shattered  Hopes— The  Holy  Spirit  Lead- 
ing— New  Opportunities — Searching  for  a  New  Station  Site — 
Discouraging  News  from  America — First  Literary  Work  in  the 
Native  Language — Recalled  to  Luebo — Manifold  Duties — Ideas 
of  Mission  Policy — Visit  to  the  King  of  the  Bakuba  People — 
Founding  of  the  Kasai  Herald— Training  Native  Workers. 

It  was  with  much  reluctance  and  a  heavy  heart  that  Mr. 
Morrison  returned  to  Luebo.  This  order  from  the  State 
was  so  directly  opposed  to  his  plans  at  the  time  that  he  was 
almost  overcome  with  disappointment  and  grief.  It  proved, 
however,  to  be  a  parallel  case  with  that  of  the  Apostle  Paul 
when  he  was  minded  to  go  into  Asia,  but  the  Spirit  suffered 
him  not.  One  door  was  being  closed  in  his  face  in  order 
that  another  leading  into  a  larger  sphere  of  service  might 
be  opened  before  him.  On  account  of  their  extreme  con- 
servatism, the  hearts  of  the  Bakuba  people  were  closed  to 
the  gospel,  and  the  Holy  Spirit  was  directing  the  mission- 
ary's attention  to  the  more  receptive  people  of  the  Baluba 
tribes.  Furthermore,  the  Bakuba  dialect  was  spoken  by 
only  a  few  hundred  thousand  people,  while  there  are  to-day 
nearly  two  million  who  understand  the  Baluba  tongue. 

Mr.  Morrison  was  not  long  in  realizing  that  God  was 
planning  for  him  a  larger  work  than  he  had  dreamed  of, 
and  he  entered  with  zeal  and  enthusiasm  on  his  new  work. 

Shortly  after  his  return  to  Luebo  we  read  these  words 
in  his  diary:  "The  population  at  Luebo  is  constantly  in- 
creasing so  that  our  field  of  labor  is  widening  and  our  op- 
portunities are  multiplying.  We  believe  that  the  outlook 
for  a  great  work  here,  under  the  constant  blessing  of  God, 
was  never  brighter.     In  fact,  if  the  State  will  just  let  us 


36  Twenty  Years  in  Africa 

and  the  people  alone,  we  doubt  if  there  is  in  the  whole 
Congo  a  more  favorable  place  for  immediate  results. 
Though  there  are  many  difficulties  and  perplexities  and 
discouragements  along  all  lines,  yet  I  try  to  remember  that 
it  is  the  Lord's  work  and  He  will  bless  it  in  His  own  due 
time." 

The  Mission,  at  its  regular  annual  meeting,  decided  to 
undertake  to  open  a  new  station  somewhere  along  the 
Sankuru  River,  and  Mr.  Morrison  was  unanimously  chosen 
to  select  the  site.  He  was  to  be  accompanied  by  Sheppard, 
when  he  returned  from  a  trip  to  the  lower  Congo. 

Accordingly,  Mr.  Morrison  set  out  for  Bena  Makima,  the 
nearest  point  on  the  Sankuru,  to  await  the  steamer  from 
the  lower  river  and  any  news  he  might  receive  from  Shep- 
pard. After  several  days  of  waiting  word  came  to  him 
that  a  steamer  was  tied  up  for  the  night  a  few  miles  away 
and  would  arrive  the  next  morning.  Sunrise  found  him 
packed  and  ready  to  go  on  board  without  delay.  Imagine, 
then,  his  disappointment  when  he  learned  that  the  steamer 
was  returning  from  the  upper  Sankuru  and  was  now  on  its 
way  to  Stanley  Pool.  No  news  as  to  the  movements  of 
other  steamers  was  available,  and  he  returned  to  his  camp 
with  a  heavy  heart  only  to  wait  five  long,  weary  weeks  with- 
out any  sign  of  a  steamer. 

While  waiting  here  alone  and  discouraged,  he  was  almost 
overwhelmed  with  grief  when  he  received  the  wildly  dis- 
torted news  that  the  United  States  had  declared  war  on 
Spain;  "our  fleet  had  been  caught  napping  and  destroyed 
and  that  Boston  and  New  York  had  been  bombarded  and 
were  in  flames."  There  is  a  tradition  abroad  that  those  who 
drink  of  the  waters  of  the  Yukon  can  never  tell  the  truth 
again,  but  in  those  early  days  the  missionaries  had  not  yet 
learned  that  this  same  tradition  can  be  applied  to  those  who 


'William  McCutciian  Morrison  37 

drink  of  the  waters  of  the  Congo.  It  should,  of  course,  be 
understood  that  missionaries  rarely  ever  imbibe  deeply  of 
river  water ! 

This  humiliating  news  and  the  disappointment  over-  the 
non-arrival  of  the  steamer,  coupled  with  nagging  fevers  and 
the  scarcity  of  food,  caused  Mr.  Morrison  to  spend  many 
weary  hours  under  the  juniper  tree.  But  the  time  was  not 
passed  in  useless  worry,  for  he  was  not  the  man  to  be  over- 
come by  difificulties.  A  small  colony  of  Baluba  people  had 
settled  near  a  trading  post  at  Bena  Makima,  and  Morrison 
held  daily  services  for  them  and  rejoiced  to  see  some  fruits 
from  his  labors.  He  began  the  preparation  of  some  school 
books  and  a  catechism  for  inquirers.  The  latter  still  forms 
the  basis  of  instruction  in  all  our  catechumen  classes. 

After  many  weeks  of  waiting  the  prospects  seemed  to  be 
no  brighter  for  the  arrival  of  a  steamer.  Upon  advice  from 
Luebo  our  missionary  returned  thither  the  latter  part  of 
August. 

While  at  Bena  Makima  Mr.  Morrison  had  fully  deter- 
mined to  devote  the  greater  part  of  his  time  to  systematic 
language  study  when  he  returned  to  Luebo.  This  determi- 
nation was  sadly  hindered  by  the  multitudinous  duties 
which  are  the  common  lot  of  missionaries  to  Africa.  In 
speaking  of  this  desire,  he  writes :  "Unfortunately,  in  Africa 
the  missionary  must  be  everything  and  do  everything  at 
once — lexicographer,  publisher,  printer,  bookkeeper,  store- 
keeper, trader,  physician,  mechanic,  farmer,  gardener,  theo- 
logian, teacher,  singer  and,  if  he  is  so  unfortunate  as  not 
to  have  a  wife,  he  must  be  cook  and  housekeeper.  And 
all  this  more  or  less  to  the  neglect  of  the  duties  of  his  high 
ofifice,  which  he  came  to  fill — that  of  preacher." 

He  was  convinced  that  every  well  regulated  station  should 
have  at  least  three  men :  one  to  take  the  language  work  and 


38  Twenty  Years  in  Africa 

devote  his  time  to  the  preparation  of  necessary  books  and 
tracts,  another  to  act  as  treasurer  and  to  manage  the  busi- 
ness affairs  of  the  Mission,  and  another  should  be  free  to 
give  his  time  to  the  school  and  the  evangelistic  work. 

In  spite  of  his  varied  duties,  as  indicated  above,  Mr. 
Morrison,  owing  to  his  unlimited  capacity  for  hard  work, 
found  time  to  apply  his  linguistic  gifts  to  the  study  and 
reduction  to  writing  of  the  Baluba  language  and  began  the 
preparation  of  a  grammar  and  dictionary.  His  work  in  this 
department  is  so  remarkable  that  an  entire  chapter  will  be 
devoted  to  it. 

The  Mission  did  not  abandon  its  idea  of  establishing  a 
station  somewhere  on  the  Sankuru.  After  Sheppard's  re- 
turn, he  and  Morrison  began  to  lay  their  plans  for  a  tour 
of  the  Bakuba  country  with  the  definite  determination  of 
selecting  a  site. 

Lukenga,  king  of  the  Bakuba  people,  had  been  subjected 
to  a  great  deal  of  unjust  treatment  at  the  hands  of  State 
officials.  The  result  was  he  had  become  incensed  against 
all  foreign  residents  and  had  closed  the  doors  of  his  entire 
kingdom  against  their  entrance.  The  Mission  had  tried 
to  secure  permission  to  visit  his  capital,  but  in  vain.  The 
old  king  finally  found  himself  in  hot  water,  because  of  his 
anti-foreign  attitude.  The  armed  forces  of  the  State  began 
to  press  in  on  him,  and  in  his  despair  he  sent  to  the  Mission 
for  advice.  This  seemed  to  be  just  the  opportunity  the 
Mission  had  been  waiting  for,  and  Morrison  and  Sheppard 
decided  to  take  advantage  of  it.  The  people  around  Luebo 
and  Ibanche  were  violently  opposed  to  this  purpose  and 
vigorously  protested  against  their  going.  The  messenger 
from  the  king  even  advised  against  it  privately.  Morrison, 
however,  writes,  "We  started  off  in  the  face  of  these  pro- 
tests,   determined    to    go    straight    to    Lukenga's    village." 


William  McCutciian  Morrison  39 

After  they  had  started,  two  other  messengers  reached  them, 
bearing  presents  from  the  king,  a  token  of  the  fact  that  they 
would  be  well  received.  "Our  hearts  fairly  leaped  with  joy 
at  this  news ;  but  we  knew  that  he  was  calling  us  in  his 
extermity."  They  continued  their  journey,  and  neared  the 
village  of  which  Mr.  Morrison  writes,  "Knowing  that  the 
next  day  would  bring  us  into  the  presence  of  the  king, 
Sheppard  and  I  turned  aside  for  a  season  of  prayer,  asking 
God  to  keep  us  in  safety,  to  give  us  favor  with  the  king  and 
to  open  wide  the  long-closed  door." 

Immediately  upon  their  arrival  in  the  village  the  king  sent 
them  a  goat,  thus  indicating  his  friendship  in  the  common 
African  style. 

"The  second  day  after  arriving  we  were  called  to  a  con- 
ference with  the  king.  We  were  escorted  into  a  cleared 
space  in  the  edge  of  the  wood,  near  the  chief's  quarters, 
taking  our  seats  on  mats.  In  a  few  minutes  Lukenga,  with 
his  bodyguard,  appeared  and  took  his  seat  on  a  large  block 
of  wood  beautifully  carved,  and  we  were  in  the  presence 
of  royalty.  Lukenga  is  perhaps  over  fifty  years  of  age, 
of  large  frame  but  not  physically  strong.  His  bearing  was 
haughty,  stern,  and  unyielding,  except  now  and  then  when 
a  genial  smile  would  cause  him  to  relax  his  severity  of 
countenance.  He  w'ore  an  expression  of  care  and  anxiety, 
thus  proving  that  even  in  Africa,  'uneasy  lies  the  head  that 
wears  a  crown.'  He  wore  a  loin  cloth  of  native  manufac- 
ture, and  his  face,  arms  and  legs  were  covered  with  'medi- 
cine' to  prevent  us  from  doing  him  any  harm. 

"With  Sheppard,  who  speaks  the  Bakuba  dialect  fluently, 
acting  as  spokesman,  we  told  him  plainly  that  two  years  ago 
we  wished  to  come  to  see  him,  but  he  had  refused ;  that 
the  .State  soldiers  had  come  because  he  tried  to  keep  all 
foreigners  out  of  his  territory;  that  we  were  his  friends  and 


40  Twenty  Years  in  Africa 

were  advising  him  for  his  own  good.  We  also  requested 
him  to  put  the  feather  in  his  hair — the  same  as  the  corona- 
tion— and  send  word  to  all  his  villages  that  the  people  could 
dance  and  cease  their  mourning. 

"He  listened  attentively,  and  when  the  interview  was 
ended  we  gave  him  a  small  present.  We  are  the  only  for- 
eigners who  have  ever  seen  his  face;  in  fact,  many  people 
in  his  own  village  have  never  seen  him. 

"I  confess  to  a  little  squeamishness  in  the  presence  of  a 
man  whose  word  has  been  the  cause  of  the  death  of  hun- 
dreds, perhaps  thousands,  of  his  subjects. 

"The  members  of  the  royal  family  visit  us  only  at  night, 
not  wishing  to  be  seen  by  the  common  herd.  Last  night, 
one  of  the  princesses  asked  me  where  my  wife  was.  I  had 
to  reply  with  shamefacedness  that  I  had  none;  whereupon 
she  very  naively  answered,  'Well,  I  am  looking  for  a  hus- 
band.'   It  was  'so  sudden,'  but  I  managed  not  to  faint. 

"To-morrow,  with  guides  from  Lukenga,  we  expect  to 
start  for  the  Sankuru  River,  to  be  gone  perhaps  a  week. 

"Instead  of  spending  one  week  on  the  Sankuru  trip,  we 
spent  nearly  three,  returning  to  Luebo  after  an  absence  of 
about  six  weeks.  We  investigated  all  the  country  from 
Mukikamu,  on  the  Sankuru,  down  to  Butala,  on  the  same 
river,  finding  one  point  which  we  deemed  reasonably  favor- 
able for  a  Mission  station.  The  Lord  blessed  us  and  our 
entire  caravan  of  forty  people  with  good  health  during  the 
journey — Slieppard  had  two  small  fevers  and  I  had  one. 
Lukenga  is  very  anxious  for  us  to  go  to  his  village,  where 
perhaps  eight  thousand  people  live.  The  door  is  now  wide 
open,  and  it  has  been  in  answer  to  prayer.  We  trust  the 
State  will  give  us  no  trouble  in  this  matter." 

The  work  of  the  Mission  was  now  growing  so  rapidly 


William  McCutchan  Morrison 


41 


that  the  missionaries  reahzed  that  everytliing  possible 
should  be  done  to  bring  its  needs  and  opportunities  con- 
stantly before  the  church  at  home.  After  long  and  prayer- 
ful consideration,  the  Mission  finally  decided  to  launch  out 
on  the  publication  of  a  paper  to  be  circulated  among  our 
Christian  constituency  at  home.  The  first  issue  of  this 
paper,  known  as  the  "Kasai  Herald,"  appeared  early  in  the 
year  1901.  We  mention  this  publication  in  connection  with 
the  history  of  Dr.  Morrison,  because  this  little  paper  of  a 
dozen  pages  was  destined  to  play  a  very  important  part  in 
the  story  of  his  life.  He  was  chosen  Editor  shortly  after 
its  foundation  and  served  in  that  capacity,  almost  without 
interruption,  till  the  publication  was  discontinued  some  six- 
teen years  later. 


DR.    MORUISOIV    AND   NATIVE   EVANGELISTS 

Mr.  Morrison  realized  that  one  of  the  most  important 
phases  of  missionary  activity  is  in  the  training  of  young 
men  and  women  in  Christian  service.  To  accomplish  this 
end  he  organized  Christian  Endeavor  bands  to  give  them 
some  practical  experience.    He  selected  a  number  of  attrac- 


42 


Twenty  Years  in  Africa 


tive  and  promising  young  men,  gave  them  a  special  course 
of  instruction  and  then  took  them  out  every  afternoon  into 
different  sections  of  the  village  to  conduct  religious  services. 
From  this  band  there  have  come  many  of  the  men  who  are 
now  the  leaders  in  all  the  activities  of  our  native  church. 

One  of  his  fellow  missionaries,  in  writing  of  him  and  of 
his  work  at  this  time,  says,  "These  young  men,  with  thou- 
sands of  others  here,  have  learned  that  there  is  no  one  to 
be  found  anywhere  more  truly  interested  than  he  in  their 
material  and  spiritual  welfare." 

We  can  give  no  better  account  of  the  scope  of  this  work 
and  its  accomplishment  than  that  which  has  been  given  by 
Mr.  Morrison  himself  in  an  article  written  to  the  "Mission- 
ary" on  the  subject  of  "Our  Congo  Christian  People." 

After  giving  a  most  graphic  description  of  the  moral  and 
spiritual  darkness  that  hangs  like  a  cloud  over  the  heathen 
world   he   tells   of   the  wonderful   transformation   that  has 


BICFORE   THE   COMING   OF   THE   MISSIONARY 


William  McCutciian  Morrison 


43 


THE    POAVER    OF    THE    GOSPEL. 

been  brought  about  by  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel.  "When 
we  remember  that  the  acceptance  of  the  Christ  means  com- 
plete revolution  of  their  whole  social  and  religious  fabric; 
when  we  remember  the  death-grip  with  which  they  are 
bound  by  the  old  habits,  customs,  superstitions,  which  have 
been  taught  them  from  infancy  up;  and  when  we  remember 
that  for  many  centuries  they  have  had  a  pagan  ancestry, 
that  they  have  had  no  Christian  training  in  the  home,  and 
that  even  now  the  Bible  is  just  being  placed  in  their  hands 
— remembering  all  these  things,  I  consider  it  one  of  the 
most  marvelous  and  miraculous  works  of  Divine  grace  to 
see  scores  and  scores  of  our  Christian  people  who  have 
either  broken  away  entirely  from  the  fetters  that  bound 
them  or  are  making  a  valiant  fight  against  terrible  odds, 
who  are  unmistakably  showing  by  their  daily  walk  and  con- 


44  Twenty  Years  in  Africa 

versation  among  their  own  people,  the  power  of  a  new  life, 
who  pray  regularly  in  public  and  in  private,  who  attend 
punctually  upon  the  services  of  the  sanctuary  and,  last  but 
not  least,  who  are  daily  by  word  and  act  preaching  this 
gospel  to  the  unsaved  about  them." 


CHAPTER  VI 

l^ia  JirBt  Jurloitgl|— Olottga  Ifforma 

Protesting  Against  the  Intolerable  Conditions  in  the  Congo— Before 
the  Tribunal— Commissioned  to  Protest  before  the  King  of  Bel- 
gium—Interviewing the  King's  Ministers— Advocating  Congo  Re- 
forms in  England ;  In  the  Leading  Magazines ;  Before  the  Houses 
of  Parliament— Great  English  Leaders  Rally  to  His  Support- 
Departure  for  America— Before  the  General  Assembly— The 
Challenge  of  King  Leopold  and  His  Agents— The  Challenge  Ac- 
cepted—Arousing Public  Sentiment  in  Behalf  of  the  Congo  Re- 
forms—Before the  Boston  Peace  Congress— Great  Leaders  in 
America  Rally  Around  Him— King  Leopold  Appoints  an  Investi- 
gating Commission— What  the  Congo  Reform  Association  Accom- 
plished. 

In  1903  Mr.  Morrison,  after  six  and  one-half  years  of 
labor  on  the  field,  departed  for  America  on  his  first  and 
well-earned  furlough.  He  took  with  him  the  manuscripts 
of  the  Baluba  grammar  and  dictionary,  which  he  had  been 
authorized  by  the  Mission  to  publish  in  book  form.  He 
was  accompanied  by  a  native  lad,  named  Kachunga,  who 
was  to  assist  him  in  working  out  the  complicated  details  of 
the  language. 

Prior  to  his  furlough  Mr.  Morrison  had  begun  to  wield 
his  pen  in  exposing  to  the  outside  world  the  atrocities  per- 
petrated by  the  agents  of  Leopold  of  Belgium  upon  the 
natives  of  the  so-called  Congo  Free  State.  Just  two  years 
after  his  arrival  on  the  field  he  was  called  before  the  Tri- 
bunal at  Luebo  to  answer  for  some  very  strong  articles  of 
protest  against  one  of  the  raids  made  by  the  notorious 
cannibal  tribe  of  the  Zappo  Zaps,  who  were  in  the  employ 
of  the  agents  of  the  State.  The  officials  doubtless  hoped, 
by  this  move,  to  terrify  him  into  silence,  but  they  had  mis- 
judged the  calibre  of  the  man  with  whom  they  were  dealing. 


46  Twenty  Years  in  Africa 

Instead  of  retracting  his  charges  he  emphasized  them  and 
ofifered  to  prove  them  before  an  impartial  court.  The 
Tribunal  realized  that  they  could  not  afford  to  accept  such 
a  challenge.  They  very  wisely  side-tracked  the  case  and 
nothing  more  was  heard  of  it. 

We  have  seen  how  it  was  practically  impossible  for  our 
Mission  to  obtain  a  tract  of  land  on  which  to  establish  any 
new  stations.  This  condition  was  not  peculiar  to  our  Pres- 
byterian Mission,  but  was  true  of  practically  all  the  Protes- 
tant Missions  operating  in  the  Congo.  The  best  they  could 
do  was  to  secure  a  temporary  lease  of  a  few  years  with  no 
guarantee  that  it  could  be  renewed  at  the  expiration  of  that 
time.  The  work  of  expansion  was  practically  paralyzed. 
It  was  not  a  businesslike  policy  to  invest  money  in  buildings 
and  equipment  with  the  prospect  of  losing  it  all  at  the  end 
of  a  few  years. 

Mr.  Morrison,  as  legal  representative  of  the  Mission, 
was  authorized  to  stop  in  Belgium  on  his  way  home  and 
make  a  formal  protest  to  the  king  and  his  ministers  against 
this  intolerable  condition. 

Just  prior  to  his  arrival  in  Europe  the  voice  of  the  Pro- 
testant missions  throughout  the  Congo  had  made  itself  heard 
in  England  and  on  the  continent,  and  the  storm  clouds  of 
indignation  were  already  gathering  around  the  head  of 
King  Leopold.  The  Congo  Free  State,  created  by  fourteen 
signatory  powers  in  1885,  with  King  Leopold  as  its  sov- 
ereign head,  had  been  organized  "to  seek  the  moral  and 
material  regeneration  of  the  Congo  natives,"  and  the  Pow- 
ers which  constituted  it  bound  themselves  "to  watch  over 
and  care  for  the  native  tribes."  Reports  were  now  coming 
in  from  all  quarters  to  the  effect  that  the  native  inhabitants 
y-f'Te  being  subjected  to  the  most  inhuman  treatment  by 
the  officers  acting  directly  under  Leopold's  order.     Though 


William  McCutciian  Morrison  47 

vehemently  denied,  these  charges  continued  to  grow  in 
volume  and  explicitness. 

It  is  not  surprising  that  those  who  were  interested  in  the 
leformation  of  these  unspeakable  conditions  should  value 
the  testimony  of  Mr.  Morrison,  who  had  just  arrived  from 
the  Congo  and  who  had  already  denounced  these  agents  so 
boldly  through  the  press. 

Accordingly,  Mr.  Morrison  endeavored  to  secure  an 
audience  with  the  king  to  lay  the  whole  matter  before  him 
in  person.  He  failed  to  obtain  this  audience  but  inter- 
viewed some  of  the  king's  ministers  without  getting  any 
definite  written  promises  from  them. 

He  then  crossed  over  into  England  and  through  the 
influence  of  Mr.  Robert  Whyte  St.,  a  man  of  prominence 
in  political  aflfairs  and  one  of  the  first  to  be  aroused  against 
the  inhumanity  of  the  Congo  regime,  he  was  introduced  to 
the  great  leaders  in  religious  and  political  circles. 

The  leading  newspapers  and  magazines  of  the  country 
were  thrown  open  to  him,  and  he  contributed  many  impor- 
tant and  convincing  articles.  These  articles  were  always 
commented  on  editorially,  and  public  sentiment  began  to  be 
aroused  against  these  disgraceful  conditions. 

Mr.  Morrison  also  had  the  honor  of  speaking  on  the  sub- 
ject of  Congo  reforms  before  a  very  distinguished  audience 
gathered  in  Whitehall,  London.  A  few  days  later  he  had 
the  very  rare  privilege  of  addressing  the  Houses  of  Parlia- 
ment on  the  same  subject.  As  a  result  of  these  speeches 
a  warm  discussion  took  place  in  the  House  of  Commons, 
and  upon  motion  of  Sir  Herbert  Samuel,  "King  Leopold 
stood  impeached  before  the  bar  of  Christendom  for  his  high 
crimes  and  misdemeanors  against  humanity  and  more  es- 
pecially   for    his    violation,    wholesale    and    retail,    of    the 


48  Twenty  Years  in  Africa 

provisions  of  the  international  act  drawn  up  at  Berlin  in 
the  years  1884-85." 

The  great  political  leaders  throughout  the  realm,  under 
the  able  leadership  of  Sir  Edward  Grey,  Secretary  of  State 
for  Foreign  Affairs,  championed  the  cause  of  freedom 
which  Mr.  Morrison  and  other  missionaries  had  advocated. 
Such  notables  as  ^ir  Gilbert  Parker,  Sir  Charles  Dilke, 
Sir  George  White,  Chairman  of  the  Non-Conformist  body 
in  the  House  of  Commons,  threw  their  influence  on  the 
side  of  the  missionaries. 

Public  sentiment  soon  became  thoroughly  aroused  and 
distinguished  leaders  in  all  walks  of  life  began  to  speak 
out  boldly  in  their  demands  for  the  emancipation  of  the 
enslaved  thousands  in  the  Congo  Free  State.  In  the  realm 
of  journalism  the  late  \V.  T.  Stead,  one  of  the  foremost 
editors  in  England,  took  the  lead  and  denounced  the  "auto- 
crat of  the  Congo"  in  the  most  scathing  terms. 

In  an  article  on  this  subject  in  the  American  "Review 
of  Reviews"  for  July,  1903,  Mr.  Stead  says :  "It  is  the 
rule  in  these  character  sketches  always  to  describe  the  sub- 
ject as  he  appears  to  himself  at  his  best,  and  not  as  he 
appears  to  his  enemies  at  his  worst ;  but  it  is  impossible  for 
me,  in  this  case,  to  do  either.  The  resources  of  the  English 
language  are  inadequate  to  describe  Emperor  Leopold  as 
he  appears  to  himself  at  his  best  moments.  An  artist  who 
could  dip  his  brush  in  the  radiance  of  the  setting  sun  might, 
possibly,  portray  the  angelic  figure  of  the  haloed  monarch 
who  conceals  his  wings  beneath  his  epaulets  and  lingers 
for  awhile  in  the  midst  of  an  ungrateful  world.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  blackest  ink  would  fail  to  depict  the  same 
man  as  he  appears  to  his  enemies  at  his  worst.  If  we  look 
over  the  efforts  of  the  mediaeval  artists  when  they  ex- 
hausted the  resources  of  their  imagination  in  picturing  the 


William  McCutchan  Morrison  49 

enemy  of  mankind  with  horns  and  hoots  and  tail  complete, 
we  can  gain  some  far-away,  faint  resemblance  of  the  mon- 
arch who  was  to  have  made  the  Congo  Free  State  a  para- 
dise and  who  converted  it  into  a  hell !'" 

These  sentiments  were  re-echoed  in  America  by  the  late 
"Mark  Twain"  in  his  stinging  satire  on  the  Congo  situation 
entitled.  "Leopold's  Soliloquy."  Much  of  the  material  for 
this  remarkable  book  w^as  obtained  by  correspondence  and 
by  conversation  with  Dr.  Morrison. 

In  the  religious  realm  such  noteworthy  leaders  as  the 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  the  Bishop  of  Winchester,  the 
Bishop  of  Oxford,  Rev.  Thomas  Law,  the  late  Organizing 
Secretary  of  the  Free  Church  Council,  the  late  Rev.  Sil- 
vester Home,  and  scores  of  others  rallied  around  the 
standard  of  human  rights  and  religious  freedom. 

Even  in  Belgium  itself,  a  small  group  of  reformers  with 
Mr.  Vandervelde  at  their  head  fought  against  fearful  odds 
in  denouncing  the  diabolical  practices  of  their  own  king. 

Perhaps  it  would  not  be  right  to  claim  that  Dr.  Morrison 
alone  was  responsible  for  the  rousing  of  this  great  storm 
of  indignation  in  the  breasts  of  these  eminent  leaders,  but 
a  very  large  part  of  the  honor  is  due  him  because  he  was 
the  first  and  the  foremost  of  the  Protestant  missionaries  to 
bring  the  crimes  of  the  Congo  to  the  attention  of  the  civil- 
ized world. 

Shortly  after  the  departure  of  Mr.  Morrison  for  America 
King  Leopold  and  his  agents  began  to  make  much  of  the 
fact  that  he  did  not  mention  the  more  specific  charges 
against  the  State  in  his  interview  with  the  ministers  of  the 
king  in  April.  They  rather  implied,  from  the  tone  of  their 
remarks,  that  he  was  either  afraid  to  speak  in  regard  to 
these  matters  in  their  presence  or  else  that  he  had  been 


50  Twenty  Years  in  Africa 

bribed  to  bear  false  witness  against  the  king  and  his 
government. 

Mr.  Morrison's  reply  to  these  insinuations  is  given  in  a 
letter  to  King  Leopold  from  Lexington,  Va.,  under  the  date 
of  June  20,  1903  : 

"I  have  the  honor  to  write  you  concerning  certain  state- 
ments which  I  have  made  about  your  administration  of 
affairs  in  the  Congo  Independent  State.  Some  of  your 
agents  in  Belgium  and  in  England  have  been  making  great 
show  of  the  fact  that  when  I  was  in  Brussels  recently, 
under  the  advice  of  the  Governor-General,  to  consult  with 
you  and  the  State  officials  regarding  land  concessions  which 
had  been  refused  us,  I  did  not  make  mention  of  the  out- 
rageous conduct  of  your  government  toward  the  natives. 
My  reason  for  not  referring  to  this  matter  was  because  I 
had  reported  several  cases  to  you  and  your  government, 
and  as  a  result  of  the  so-called  'investigations'  nothing  has 
ever  been  done — in  fact,  nothing  can  be  done  so  long  as 
your  present  system  of  forced  labor  and  military  service 
prevails.  I  considered  the  question  as  closed  by  your  own 
courts  to  which  the  cases  had  been  referred.  It  would, 
as  you  well  see,  have  been  simply  effrontery  for  me  to  have 
mentioned  these  matters  in  Brussels.  I  am  sorry  now,  how- 
ever, that  I  did  not  mention  them,  at  least  to  enter  my 
verbal  protest  against  such  a  system,  since  you  are  using 
this  to  make  it  appear  that  I  was  not  open  and  honest  with 
the  State.  It  was  only  as  a  last  resort,  when  I  saw  that 
justice  could  not  be  gotten,  that  I  made  public  the  facts. 

"In  view  of  these  things,  and  in  view  of  the  fact  tha* 
you  seem  so  anxious  to  have  these  matters  told  to  you  per- 
sonally, and  in  view  of  the  fact  that  your  agent,  Sir  H. 
Gilzean  Reid,  seems  to  intimate  that  I  was  unwilling  to 
face  you  and  other  Congo  officials  with  the  charges  which 


William  McCutciian  Morrison  51 

I  have  laid  before  Lord  Landsdowne  and  which  I  expect 
in  a  few  days  to  lay  before  my  government  at  Washington, 
I  hereby  state  that  if  the  Congo  government  will  pay  all 
my  legitimate  expenses  on  railroads,  steamers,  at  hotels, 
etc.,  from  here  to  Brussels  and  return,  I  shall  gladly  go  and 
tell  you  face  to  face  the  charges  which  I  have  laid  before 
the  governments  mentioned  above;  but  I  want  you  to  dis- 
tinctly understand  that  I  am  not  willing  to  submit  the  case 
to  your  Congo  State  courts.  I  only  demand  an  impartial 
court  composed  of  men  not  interested  in  any  way  in  the 
Congo  State.  I  am  not  willing  that  the  Congo  government 
shall  be  the  judge  of  its  own  case. 

"I  await  your  answer  with  interest. 

"I  can  assure  Your  Majesty  that  nothing  has  ever  given 
me  greater  pain  than  to  be  compelled  to  lose  confidence  in 
the  government's  real  desire  to  do  justice  according  to  the 
spirit  of  the  Treaties  of  Berlin  and  Brussels,  and  it  is 
after  the  most  careful  deliberation  that  I  have  reached  the 
conclusion  that  our  only  hope  lies  in  arousing  the  public 
opinion  of  the  world  against  the  iniquities  which  you  know 
that  your  system  must  produce  in  Africa.  I  have  lived 
under  that  unfortunate  government  for  over  six  years.  I 
have  suffered  myself,  and  I  have  seen  the  natives  and 
traders  suft'er;  and  you  treat  those  sufferings  with  disdain, 
though  all  the  while  making  protestations  of  philanthropy 
and  virtue.  If  you  are  really  desirous  of  having  me  tell  you 
the  same  things  which  I  have  told  in  London  and  will  tell 
in  Washington,  I  place  myself  at  your  disposition." 

We  can  imagine  Leopold's  "soliloquy"  upon  the  receipt 
of  such  a  letter,  but  we  have  no  record  that  the  challenge 
was  accepted. 

Immediately  upon  the  arrival  of  Mr.  Morrison  in  Amer- 
ica he  entered  the  lists  in  an  endeavor  to  arouse  the  public 


52  Twenty  Years  in  Africa 

sentiment  of  our  own  country,  as  we  were  one  of  the  first 
of  the  world  powers  to  recognize  the  flag  of  the  Congo 
Free  State. 

His  efforts  began  to  hear  immediate  fruit.  The  General 
Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United  States, 
at  its  meeting  in  Lexington,  Va.,  in  May,  1903,  "recognizing 
the  crisis  that  is  confronting  our  work  in  the  Congo," 
appointed  a  committee  composed  of  Mr.  Tucker,  Judge 
Livingston  and  Mr.  Morrison  to  present  to  Mr.  Hay,  Sec- 
retary of  State,  the  condition  of  affairs  in  the  Congo  State. 
This  committee  met  in  Washington  in  July,  but  failed  to 
see  either  the  President  or  the  Secretary  of  State,  as  both 
were  absent  from  the  city.  They,  therefore,  laid  their  re- 
port before  the  State  Department  and  made  an  appointment 
for  November  the  3rd. 

Realizing  that  public  sentiment  must  be  aroused  before 
our  government  could  be  induced  to  take  a  definite  stand  on 
the  Congo  question,  Mr.  Morrison  continued  to  keep  the 
subject  prominently  before  the  public  through  our  leading 
magazines  and  newspapers.  The  editor  of  the  "Independ- 
ent," in  commenting  on  some  of  these  articles,  says,  "We 
published  an  article  entitled,  'The  Misgovernment  of  the 
Congo  Free  State,'  and  since  then  the  situation  there  has 
excited  the  pity  and  indignation  of  the  civilized  world." 

Mr.  Morrison  also  addressed  large  audiences  throughout 
the  country  and  plead  for  the  emancipation  of  the  natives 
in  the  most  eloquent  terms.  Chief  among  these  was  the 
Boston  Peace  Congress  assembled  in  that  city  in  October, 
1904.*  He  appealed  to  them  in  such  a  convincing  manner 
that  the  following  resolutions  were  passed : 

"Whereas  the  International  Association  of  the  Congo  in 
1884  secured  from  the  American  Government  that  its  flag 
*See  Appendi.x. 


William  McCutciian  Morrison  53 

should  be  recognized  as  that  of  a  friendly  state  (which 
recognition  was  subsequently  indorsed  by  the  Powers  of 
Europe  at  Berlin)  on  the  ground  that  it  was  an  organiza- 
tion formed  to  protect  the  interests  and  welfare  of  the 
natives,  to  promote  legitimate  commerce,  and  to  preserve 
the  neutrality  of  the  Congo  Valley,  over  which  it  sought 
to  exercise  authority ; 

"Whereas  it  is  alleged  that  the  government  of  the  Congo 
Free  State  has  appropriated  the  land  of  the  natives  and  the 
products  of  commercial  value  yielded  by  the  land,  thus  lead- 
ing to  the  committal  of  grave  wrongs  upon  the  native  races 
and  to  the  infringement  of  the  rights  secured  for  interna- 
tional commerce  by  the  acts  of  the  Conference  at  Berlin  ; 

"Whereas  this  is  a  question  that  may  lead  to  grave  inter- 
national complications : 

"This  Congress,  in  the  interests  of  peace,  recommends 
that  the  following  questions  should  be  referred,  either  to  a 
renewed  conference  of  the  Powers  concerned  in  the  forma- 
tion of  the  Congo  Free  State  or  to  a  commission  of  inquiry 
as  provided  in  the  Hague  convention : 

"i.  Is  the  government  of  the  Congo  Free  State  still  to  be 
regarded  as  trustee  of  the  Powers  which  recognized  the 
flag  of  the  International  Association? 

"2.  If  not,  what  is  the  position  of  the  Congo  Free  State 
in  international  law,  and  in  what  manner  may  the  grave 
questions  concerning  its  alleged  actions  be  satisfactorily  and 
competently  determined?" 

Through  the  untiring  efforts  of  Mr.  Morrison  the  interest 
of  many  of  our  great  political  leaders  was  aroused  and 
Senators  Morgan,  DoUiver,  Spooner  and  Lodge  championed 
the  cause  of  our  missionary  in  the  United  States  Senate. 
For  their  use  a  memorial  was  drawn  up  by  forty  mission- 
aries, with  Mr.   Morrison  as  their  head,  setting  forth  the 


54  Twenty  Years  in  Africa 

main  issues  of  the  case  in  the  Congo.  This  memorial  was 
introduced  into  the  Senate  by  Senator  Morgan  of  Alabama, 
the  law  partner  of  Judge  Lapsley,  the  father  of  our  pioneer 
missionary.  After  many  hearings,  Mr.  Root,  as  Secretary 
of  State,  gave  out  as  his  opinion  that  "the  United  States 
ought  to  take  no  steps  to  bring  about  an  international  in- 
quiry as  the  United  States  was  not  a  signatory  to  the  Treaty 
of  Berlin,  by  virtue  of  which  Leopold  gained  sovereignty 
over  the  Congo."  We  must  confess  with  shame  that  our 
government,  through  political  expediency,  or  what  not,  did 
not  take  that  bold  and  definite  stand  against  this  form  of 
oppression  that  Daniel  Webster  had  taken  against  Austria 
when  Hungary  was  struggling  for  independence  or  that 
John  Hay  had  taken  against  the  persecution  of  the  Jews 
in  Roumania. 

But  the  pressure  of  public  sentiment  in  America  had  a 
salutary  effect  in  alleviating  the  distressing  condition  in  the 
Congo. 

King  Leopold  was  practically  forced  to  appoint  a  com- 
mission which,  as  a  prominent  British  daily  paper  said, 
"was  calculated  to  provoke  a  smile."  All  three  of  the  men 
appointed  were  directly  connected  with  the  Congo  State 
Government.  It  was  simply  a  case  of  the  government  inves- 
tigating itself.  The  findings  of  this  commission,  appointed 
under  the  whip  of  public  opinion,  are  therefore  all  the  more 
remarkable  and  convincing,  because  the  members  that  com- 
posed it  were  free  from  prejudice  against  the  State.  y\nd 
yet,  in  spite  of  their  desire  to  give  all  possible  credit  to 
their  sovereign,  the  commissioners  felt  constrained  to  report 
the  existence  of  measures  and  practices  of  flagrant  inhu- 
manity. Among  these  measures  and  practices  are  the  fol- 
lowing: "The  exaction  of  a  labor  tax  so  oppressive  that  the 
natives  on  whom  it  falls  have  little,  if  any  freedom. 


William  McCutcuan  Morrison  55 

"The  appropriation  of  the  land  to  such  an  extent  that 
the  natives  are  practically  prisoners  within  their  own  ter- 
ritory. 

"The  abuse  of  the  natives  by  white  representatives  of 
officially  recognized  companies. 

"The  binding  of  little  children  to  years  of  labor  at  uncer- 
tain wages  by  contracts  they  do  not  understand,  and  even 
more  serious  maltreatment  of  children  supposedly  under  the 
immediate  care  of  the  government. 

"Great  injustice  in  the  administration  of  the  courts  so 
that  the  natives  dread  the  name  of  Boma,  the  place  where 
the  judicial  system  is  centralized. 

"The  sending  of  punitive  expeditions,  not  for  the  purpose 
of  establishing  peace  and  order,  but  for  the  purpose  of  ter- 
rifying natives  into  paying  a  tax,  which,  as  administered, 
even  the  commissioners  regard  as  inhuman." 

It  is  to  be  remembered  that  these  are  not  charges  brought 
against  the  Congo  Government  by  outsiders,  but  they  are 
finchngs  of  the  Commission  which  was  appointed  by  the 
Chief  Executive  of  this  same  Government  to  investigate 
and  report  the  facts.  They  are  sufficiently  clear  to  convince 
anyone  that  Mr.  Morrison  was  not  exaggerating  the  existing 
conditions  and  that  he  was  justified  in  exposing  them. 

In  view  of  these  facts  the  government  of  the  United 
States  certainly  would  have  been  justified  in  lending  moral 
support  toward  the  correction  of  these  abuses,  since  we  had 
given  our  moral  support  to  the  establishment  of  the  Congo 
I'^ree  State. 

It  fell  to  the  lot  of  the  British  Government  to  take  the 
initiative  in  approaching  the  signatory  Powers  of  the  Berlin 
and  Brussels  Acts.  The  greatest  work,  however,  of  all  was 
done  by  the  "Congo  Reform  Association,"  which  was  or- 
ganized first  in   England  in   1903  and  a  year  later  in  the 


56  Twenty  Years  in  Africa 

United  States.  This  association  was  composed  of  the  fore- 
most leaders  in  all  walks  of  life,  including  fifty  peers  of  the 
British  realm,  members  of  Parliament,  high  dignitaries  in 
the  church,  missionaries,  philanthropists,  professional  and 
literary  men,  who  carried  their  indictment  to  the  four  cor- 
ners of  the  earth.  Every  charge  that  this  organization  made 
was  proved  beyond  the  perad venture  of  a  doubt,  and  they 
were  never  convicted  of  error  of  fact  or  exaggeration  of 
statement.  They  demonstrated  the  fact  that  public  opinion 
can,  when  the  occasion  arises,  prove  itself  the  most  unselfish 
and  powerful  force  for  good  in  international  affairs.  This 
association  continued  to  function  for  some  ten  years,  or 
nearly  five  years  after  the  Congo  had  been  annexed  by 
Belgium. 

The  secretary  of  that  association,  in  summing  up  the  work 
they  had  to  such  an  extent  been  instrumental  in  accomplish- 
ing, pays  the  following  eloquent  tribute  to  those  who  had 
labored  amid  discouragement  in  behalf  of  the  oppressed  in 
darkest  Africa  and  yet  were  undaunted.  "It  is  true,  and  it 
should  be  said  to-day,  that  what  all  Europe  should  have 
taken  in  hand,  what  it  was  the  duty  of  all  Europe  to  have 
taken  in  hand,  this  Association,  rising  as  a  small  cloud  on 
the  horizon  of  a  tyrant's  will  and  gathering  the  force  of  a 
tornado  which  swept  him  from  his  African  throne,  has,  in 
a  large  measure,  been  able  itself  to  accomplish."  And  may 
we  not  also  add  that  this  humble  missionary,  by  his  faith  in 
prayer  and  by  his  untiring  devotion  to  the  oppressed  na- 
tives, was  used  of  God  in  launching  some  of  the  most  bril- 
liant flashes  of  lightning  and  some  of  the  most  terrific 
thunderbolts  which  created  the  terror  of  the  tornado  that 
gathered  around  the  head  of  the  despotic  autocrat  of  the 
Congo  ? 


CHAPTER  VII 

Jorgutg  a  iK^y  tn  Kn  litturUt^n  ilattgita^e 

Difficulty  of  the  Task— The  Baluba  Language  Widely  Spoken- 
Great  Aid  to  Missionary  Work  of  a  Uniform  Language— In- 
fluence of  Lucbo  in  Unifying  the  Language— How  the  Task  Was 
Accomplished— Publication  of  the  Baluba  Grammar  and  Diction- 
ary—Preparation for  Bible  Translation— Insurmountable  Obsta- 
cles to  Be  Faced— Paraphrasing  the  Scriptures— Literal  Transla- 
tions. 

One  would  naturally  think  that  the  burdens  of  the  Congo 
reforms  were  heavy  enough  to  absgrb  the  entire  thought 
and  attention  of  an  ordinary  man,  and  yet  in  the  midst  of 
these  arduous  duties  Mr.  Morrison  found  time  to  perfect 
the  material  he  had  gathered  from  the  Baluba-Lulua  lan- 
guage. 

This  work  involved  the  mastering  of  the  grammatical 
principles  upon  which  the  language  was  built  and  its  reduc- 
tion to  a  written  form.  The  accomplishment  of  this  task 
alone  is  sufficient  to  give  him  a  secure  place  among  the 
world's  great  linguistic  scholars. 

To  master  any  foreign  language,  with  the  assistance  of 
grammars,  exercise  books,  dictionaries  and  an  intelligent 
teacher  is  by  no  means  an  easy  task,  but  to  accomplish 
this  without  any  aids  whatever  is  one  that  challenges  the 
keenest  intellect.  We  have  already  quoted  Mr.  Morrison's 
statement  that  when  he  began  this  work  he  could  not  find  a 
single  character  that  indicated  the  existence  of  a  written 
language.  He,  therefore,  began  at  the  very  foundation, 
learning  to  speak  the  language  solely  by  conversation 
with  the  people  and  then  searched  out  the  principles  upon 
which  the  language  was  constructed.  When  studying  a 
foreign  language  under  a  competent  teacher,  it  is  possible 
to  ask  the  why  and  wherefore  of  the  different  constructions, 
but  when  Mr.  Morrison  began  this  work  the  natives  had  no 


58  Twenty  Years  in  Africa 

conception  whatever  of  grammatical  principles.  They 
could  speak  their  own  language  correctly,  but  when  asked, 
"Why?"  they  could  only  reply,  "They  say  it  that  way." 

Then,  too,  we  must  remember  that  Mr.  Morrison  could 
not  devote  his  entire  time  to  the  study  of  the  language. 
There  were  many  other  tasks  to  be  performed  and  a  mul- 
titude of  interruptions,  known  only  perhaps  to  the  mis- 
sionary, vexed  and  tried  his  patience.  He  often  said  that 
he  could  sympathize  with  a  certain  missionary  to  India, 
who  wrote  home  to  a  friend  that  he  had  gotten  a  good  bull 
dog  and  at  last  was  able  to  do  some  consistent  missionary 
work.  Of  course  Mr.  Morrison  would  not  have  employed 
a  bull  dog  for  such  purposes  as  this,  for  he  was  too 
sympathetic  with  the  native  people  and  never  turned  one 
away  day  or  night  without  listening  to  what  he  had  to 
say.  Still,  their  visits  were  at  times  distracting  and  did 
not  hasten  the  accomplishment  of  the  task  that  lay  before 
him.  Notwithstanding  all  these  interruptions,  he  had  ac- 
complished wonders  in  this  work  in  less  than  three  years 
after  his  arrival  on  the  field.  In  fact,  as  early  as  1900  the 
late  Dr.  Snyder,  one  of  his  fellow  missionaries,  in  writing 
of  him,  says:  "At  this  writing  Mr.  Morrison  is  at  Ibanche 
looking  into  the  work  over  which  he  has  special  care.  We 
are  glad  that  he  has  this  opportunity  of  a  little  recreation, 
as  he  has  for  over  a  year  been  exceedingly  busy  and  has 
conscientiously  done,  and  done  exceedingly  well,  all  the 
extra  work  that  fell  on  his  shoulders  through  the  return 
home  of  some  of  the  missionaries.  But,  in  spite  of  this,  he 
has  succeeded  in  reducing  to  writing  the  Baluba  and  Bena 
Lulua  dialects.  To  him  and  him  alone  is  the  credit  due 
for  this  needed  and  well  accomplished  work.  Time  will 
show,  and  we  trust  time  will  give  the  credit  to  the  grand 
work  Mr.  Morrison  has  done." 


William  McCutchan  Morrison  59 

W'e  have  seen  that  it  was  through  a  series  of  providential 
circumstances  that  the  Mission  was  practically  forced  to 
devote  its  attention  to  the  Baluba  people,  who  were  settling 
at  its  very  doors  and  clamoring  for  the  Gospel.  It  was 
not  till  many  years  later,  however,  that  Mr.  Morrison 
fully  realized  the  extent  of  territory  over  wiiich  this  lan- 
guage was  spoken  and  the  number  of  people  who  under- 
stood it.  He  mentions  these  facts  in  the  preface  to  his 
dictionary :  "The  Baluba  and  Lulua  people,  in  language 
and  race  belong  to  the  great  Bantu  family  which,  though 
having  many  subdivisions  occupies  roughly  speaking,  all 
of  Africa  south  of  the  fifth  parallel  of  North  latitude,  the 
Hottentots  and  Bushmen  in  the  extreme  south  being  the 
only  exception.  These  Bantu  languages  are  radically  dif- 
ferent from  the  distinctly  negro  dialects  of  the  peoples 
bordering  them  on  the  north.  While  the  different  Bantu 
dialects  have  much  in  common  so  far  as  some  of  the  gen- 
eral characteristics  are  concerned,  yet  there  are  many  de- 
grees of  difiference.  Some  are  perhaps  as  widely  apart 
as  English  and  Greek,  while  others  are  so  near  akin  that 
the  differences  amount  to  nothing  more  than  localisms  or 
a  brogue.  This  latter  fact  is  true  of  the  language  spoken 
by  the  Baluba  and  the  Lulua  people,  who  together  occupy 
a  large  area  in  Central  Africa,  extending,  roughly  speaking, 
from  the  junction  of  the  Lulua  and  Kasai  Rivers  in  a  gen- 
eral southeasterly  direction  into  Garenganze,  where  the 
language  is  called  Chiluba.  They  thus  occupy  the  high  and 
comparatively  healthy  tablelands  on  the  divide  between 
the  headwaters  of  the  Kasai  and  Congo  Rivers  on  one  side 
and  the  Zambezi  on  the  other. 

"Moreover,  the  people  are  remarkably  docile,  peaceable, 
industrious  and  eager  for  civilization  and  are,  in  many  re- 
spects,  far  superior  to  other  African  tribes.     It  has  thus 


6o  Twenty  Years  in  Africa 

come  about  that  the  Baluba,  especially,  are  eagerly  sought 
after  as  slaves,  with  the  result  that  many  thousands  of  them 
have  been  carried  into  captivity  thus  disseminating  their 
language  among  many  foreign  tribes. 

"These  facts,  together  with  the  area  covered  by  these  two 
peoples,  have  made  their  language  the  lingua  franca,  or 
trade  language,  of  the  greater  part  of  the  upper  Kasai  and 
Congo  basin,  thus  enabling  those  speaking  it  to  go  almost 
anywhere  in  this  vast  region  and  be  understood.  It  is 
gratifying  to  note  that  the  Baluba-Lulua  language  is  very 
near  akin  to  the  Lunda  and  Tonga,  which  are  spoken  over 
a  large  area  to  the  south.  It  v/oukl  be  useless  to  attempt 
to  estimate  the  number  of  people  speaking  with  more  or 
less  divergency  the  language,  whose  laws  this  book  attempts 
to  put  into  tangible  shape.  All  this  is  particularly  fortunate, 
in  view  of  the  fact  that  so  many  of  the  languages  in  Africa 
are  confined  to  very  narrow  geographical  limits." 

Thus  Luebo,  through  the  numerous  immigrants  from  dif- 
ferent tribes  who  settle  there,  has  become  a  very  cosmo- 
politan place.  Its  reflex  influence  goes  out  to  the  difi:erent 
tribes  and  villages  which  are  represented.  It  has  become  a 
sort  of  melting  pot  for  the  amalgamation  of  these  closely 
related  dialects,  unifying  them  by  means  of  a  written  lan- 
guage. And  in  this  respect  our  Mission  has  been  signally 
blessed  of  God,  in  that  we  have  been  permitted  to  labor 
among  different  tribes  who  are  bound  together  by  a  com- 
mon language.  It  is  stated  on  good  authority  that  eventual- 
ly even  the  Bakuba  people  themselves  may  be  reached 
through  the  medium  of  this  common  language,  as  practic- 
ally all  the  younger  people  of  this  present  generation  under- 
stand it. 

Mr.  Morrison  tells  us  in  his  own  words  the  manner  in 
which  he  accomplished  this  great  linguistic  feat.    "The  key 


William  McCutchan  Morrison  6i 

words  to  any  language  are  the  questions,  'What  is  this?' 
and  'What  did  you  say?'  Once  these  are  gotten,  the  way 
opens  up  and  the  language  begins  to  unlock.  And  these 
phrases  are  best  gotten  by  taking  a  seat  in  a  group  of  peo- 
ple and  pulling  out  a  pocket  knife  or  some  other  article 
with  which  the  people  are  not  familiar.  Now,  listen  with 
all  ears,  for  some  one  in  the  crowd  is  almost  certain  to 
utter  the  mystic  words,  'What  is  that?'  When  it  has  been 
gotten,  the  names  of  all  familiar  objects  can  be_  obtained 
at  once.  By  intent  never-tiring  listening  the  more  common 
verbs  will  begin  to  come,  then  adjectives  and  other  parts 
of  speech,  together  with  phrases  and  sentences,  the  meaning 
of  which  is  known  but  the  grammatical  construction  of 
which  is  still  a  mystery.  It  is  unnecessary  here  to  go  into 
all  the  intricacies  of  language  study — the  getting  of  words 
and  sentences  and  idioms  and  the  working  out  of  the  laws 
of  inflection,  concord,  etc.  To  complete  all  this — if  indeed 
it  can  ever  be  said  to  be  completed — is  the  labor  of  many 
weary  days  and  months  and  years.  And  yet  this  has  been 
for  me  a  work  fraught  with  much  pleasure.  Some  of  the 
happiest  and  most  exhilarating  moments  of  my  life  have 
been  over  the  discovery  of  some  new  words  for  which  T 
had  been  searching  perhaps  for  years,  or  over  the  solution 
of  some  grammatical  construction  which  had  baffled  me  for 
so  long.  Often  have  I  jumped  up,  leaving  my  astonished 
language  teacher  behind,  and  have  run  across  the  station 
crying  out,  'Eureka,'  in  order  to  announce  to  my  colleagues 
the  discovery  of  such  a  word  as  'Saviour,'  or  'Redeemer,' 
or  'Comforter.'  It  was  more  valuable  than  a  diamond 
dug  out  of  the  rubbish — this  word  that  would  be  a  gem 
through  which  could  flash  new  light  and  beauty  into  be- 
nighted souls. 

"And  may  I  say  just  here,  that  many  otherwise  intelligent 


62  Twenty  Years  in  Africa 

people  in  the  homeland  have  the  idea,  either  that  we  mis- 
sionaries gave  them  their  language  or  taught  them  ours,  or 
that  the  native  languages  of  the  tribes  of  central  Africa 
are  only  incoherent  gibberish,  more  like  the  chatterings  of 
monkeys  than  the  intelligent  talking  of  human  beings.  All 
of  these  ideas  are  untrue,  for  we  not  only  did  not  give  them 
a  language,  but  we  found  their  language  highly  developed, 
having  well  defined  laws  of  grammar,  rules  of  syntax,  and 
words  with  which  to  express  all  the  ideas  they  have.  Not 
only  so,  but  the  Baluba  language,  with  which  I  am  best 
acquainted  and  which  is  only  one  of  the  many  distinct 
tongues  in  Africa,  is  much  more  regular  in  its  construction 
and  laws  than  is  the  English  language.  To  such  an  extent 
is  this  true  that,  though  down  all  the  ages  they  have  had 
no  written  language,  yet  it  is  preserved  in  wonderful  purity, 
and  even  small  children  never  make  mistakes  in  grammar. 
In  fact,  I  have  often  gotten  nice  grammatical  constructions 
from  children,  because  they  do  not  speak  so  rapidly  as  the 
grown  ups. 

"And  this  leads  me  to  say  that,  most  fortunately,  we 
arrived  on  the  scene  before  the  natives  began  attempting 
to  use  writing  of  their  own  manufacture.  How  much 
would  our  Chinese  or  Japanese  missionaries — to  say  nothing 
of  those  in  other  parts  of  the  world — give,  if  they  could 
only  do  away  with  the  unspeakably  stupid  written  languages 
with  which  they  have  to  contend.  The  result  is  that  in 
the  writing  of  the  Baluba  language,  we  use  our  own  alpha- 
bet with  all  words  spelled  phonetically,  each  letter  having 
only  one  sound.  This  certainly  gives  us  a  tremendous  ad- 
vantage over  the  hopeless  confusion  in  our  English  spelling. 

"Now  that  we  have  our  grammar  and  dictionary  and 
exercise  book,  and  owing  to  the  regularity  of  the  spoken 
language  and  the  ease  of  reading  the  written  language,  we 


William  McCutchan  Morrison  63 

have  had  the  case  of  missionaries  who  preached  to  over 
one  thousand  people  in  our  Luebo  tabernacle  within  eight 
months  after  their  arrival  on  the  field." 

As  we  have  stated,  the  great  fundamental  principles  of 
the  language  had  been  worked  out  prior  to  Mr.  Morrison's 
return,  but  all  this  material  had  to  be  revised  and  typed 
before  it  could  be  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  printer. 

When  Mr,  Holman  Bently,  of  the  Baptist  Missionary 
Society  of  England  was  preparing  his  grammar  and  dic- 
tionary of  the  Lower  Congo  dialect,  he  was  given  a  two 
years'  leave  of  absence  from  the  field  with  two  or  three 
assistants  and  stenographers  before  his  work  was  ready 
for  publication.  But  when  Mr.  Morrison  was  engaged  in 
a  similar  task  he  had  only  one  native  youth  to  assist  him 
and  every  word  of  the  417  page  grammar  and  dictionary 
was  written  with  his  own  hands.  During  the  months  that 
he  was  permitted  to  labor  more  or  less  uninterruptedly  on 
this  task,  he  worked  from  7  o'clock  in  the  morning  till  5 
in  the  afternoon,  and,  after  a  brief  season  spent  in  recrea- 
tion, he  was  back  at  work  again  after  supper  to  work  till 
midnight. 

As  to  the  thoroughness  and  accuracy  with  which  he  ac- 
complished the  task  we  need  only  say  that  after  twelve 
years  of  the  cumulative  experience  of  Mr.  Morrison  and 
his  fellow  missionaries,  not  one  flaw  or  error  has  been 
found  in  this  marvelous  book.  It  is  true,  of  course,  that 
new  words  have  been  added  to  the  vocabulary,  but  as  far 
as  the  grammar  itself  is  concerned  it  is  absolutely  perfect 
in  every  detail.  In  fact,  no  less  eminent  authority  than 
Sir  Harry  W.  Johnston,  in  a  letter  addressed  to  Mr.  Mor- 
rison, acknowledging  the  receipt  of  a  complimentary  copy 
of  the  grammar,  says,  "I  need  hardly  say  that  in  my  opinion 
—3—  .  ;    I 


64  Twenty  Years  in  Africa 

it  is  one  of  a  very  high  order  and  worthy  to  rank  with  the 
best  classical  studies  of  the  Bantu  language  family." 

Upon  the  publication  of  the  grammar  and  dictionary  the 
degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity  was  conferred  on  Mr.  Mor- 
rison by  his  alma  mater,  Washington  and  Lee  University. 

The  compilation  of  the  grammar  and  dictionary  was  a 
great  and  important  work;  and  yet,  in  the  estimation  of 
Dr.  Morrison,  it  was  but  the  preparation  for  the  greater 
work  he  had  in  mind — namely,  the  translation  of  the  Bible 
into  that  language. 

We  can  get  no  better  conception  of  the  intricacies  of  this 
task  than  that  which  Dr.  Morrison  himself  detailed  in  an 
article  written  on  this  subject  for  the  "Missionary  Review 
of  the  World"  and  published  in  that  magazine  in  1912. 
"Owing  to  the  paucity  of  workers  and  other  causes,  but 
little  systematic  work  had  been  done  in  the  Baluba  dialect 
upon  my  arrival  in  the  field  in  1896.  After  some  months 
I  was  placed  in  cliarge  of  the  language  and  translation 
work,  though  feeling  my  great  incompetency  for  such  a 
responsible  task.  The  other  missionaries  who  preceded  me 
to  the  field  had  gotten  together  a  goodly  number  of  words, 
but  the  grammatical  laws  of  concord,  syntax,  etc.,  had  not 
been  worked  out.  After  spending  many  months  at  this 
task,  all  the  while  getting  new  words  and  idioms,  I  felt  that 
the  time  had  come,  as  we  now  had  a  few  in  our  schools  who 
could  read  a  little,  to  try  some  Bible  translation.  Of  course 
the  first  thing  was  to  be  the  New  Testament,  beginning  with 
Matthew.  I  got  out  my  Greek  Testament,  with  all  the 
other  helps  I  could  lay  hands  on,  even  down  to  the  Twen- 
tieth Century  New  Testament.  My  language  boy  was  all 
expectancy,  and  I  had  taken  occasion  to  inform  others  of 
the  fact  that  in  a  few  weeks  or  months  at  most  the  New 
Testament  would  be  in  their  hands. 


William  McCutchan  Morrison  65 

"But  I  had  not  gone  over  half  a  Hne  until  I  ran  amuck 
of  the  word  'generation,'  and  a  Httle  further  down  came  the 
long  Hst  of  proper  names,  and  still  further  down  came 
the  words  'birth,'  'espoused,'  'public  example,'  'virgin,' 
etc.,  with  many  other  grammatical  constructions  which 
I  did  not  know  how  to  translate,  if  I  conformed  strictly 
to  the  idiom  and  construction  of  the  original. 

"Then  I  began  to  do  some  serious  thinking.  First  of  all, 
I  was  forced  to  the  conclusion  that  my  knowledge  of  the 
language  was  not  extensive  enough  to  warrant  me  in  under- 
taking an  exact  translation  of  the  Scriptures  at  that  time. 
Not  only  so,  but  as  I  thought  over  the  matter,  I  became 
more  and  more  convinced  that  our  people,  then  all  of  them 
only  babes  in  Christ,  would  not  be  able  to  get  much  out  of 
an  exact  translation,  however  perfect  it  might  be;  that  the 
whole  Bible  in  their  hands  at  that  time  would  only  puzzle 
and  confound  rather  than  help  them.  The  thought  then 
came  that  perhaps  simple  paraphrases  of  some  of  the  famil- 
iar passages  we  had  been  teaching  to  them  verbally  would 
not  only  be  helpful  but  far  more  profitable  to  them  at  that 
stage  of  their  advancement,  and  this  I  proceeded  to  do, 
bringing  out  a  small  edition  of  some  of  the  more  important 
parables  of  our  Lord  paraphrased.  Thus  this  became  our 
first  efifort  looking  to  Bible  translation. 

"This  paraphrasing  work  has  proved  of  immense  value, 
and  I  believe  it  will  take  a  permanent  place  in  our  school 
and  Bible  study  work.  Perhaps  it  is  for  this  reason  that 
it  is  Caedmon's  'Paraphrases  of  the  Scriptures,'  and  not  the 
more  ordered  and  exact  translation,  which  have  been  pre- 
served for  us  as  almost  the  earliest  literature  in  the  Saxon 
tongue.  These  paraphrases  were  simpler,  they  were  put 
into  everyday  language,  and  they  laid  hold  on  the  life  of 
the  people  in  their  spiritual  infancy. 


66  Twenty  Years  in  Africa 

"Upon  my  return  to  the  field  in  1906,  after  consultation 
with  my  colleagues,  it  was  determined  that  I  should  begin 
a  book  which  should  be  called  'Lessons  from  the  Bible.' 
We  had  never  seen  such  a  book  gotten  up  in  this  way,  but 
we  felt  that  it  was  what  we  wanted  for  our  now  more 
advanced  reading  classes,  and  especially  for  use  in  our 
growing  evangelistic  and  Sunday  School  work.  The  idea 
was  to  translate  as  accurately  and  as  exactly  as  could 
be  done  certain  selected  passages,  chronologically  arranged, 
corresponding  roughly  to  those  used  in  the  International 
Sunday  School  Lesson  series.  These  passages  were  to  be 
printed  in  bold  type.  Then  between  these  was  to  be  in 
smaller  type  and  in  paraphrase  form  any  other  matter  of 
interest,  especially  such  things  as  were  mentioned  in  both 
Testaments. 

"This  book  has  proved  of  incalculable  value.  It  has 
given  a  goodly  number  of  the  most  select  passages  in  the 
Scriptures,  translated  as  accurately  as  we  can  do  it  now, 
besides  containing  in  the  paraphrases  a  great  amount  of 
matter  which  is  most  helpful  in  connecting  the  passages 
translated  and  in  clarifying  references  which  would  other- 
wise be  obscure. 

"I  know  of  one  Mission  on  the  Congo  which  has  trans- 
lated the  New  Testament,  and  yet  has  done  nothing  from 
the  Old  Testament.  One  wonders  how,  in  such  circum- 
stances, a  single  page  in  the  New  Testament  could  be  under- 
stood by  a  native  reader  without  having  a  missionary  at 
his  side. 

"But  now  the  time  has  come  when  the  complete  Bible 
must  be  translated,  for  nothing  else  can  take  its  place.  But 
this  will  of  necessity  be  a  work  of  several  years,  perhaps 
of  many  years. 

"It  may  be  of  interest  to  note  some  of  the  many  problems 
we  have  to  deal  with  in  Bible  translation,  especially  into  the 


William  McCutchan  Morrison  67 

language  of  central  Africa,  where  the  people  are  so  back- 
ward in  every  way  that  their  language  must  of  necessity 
be  a  very  defective  vehicle  for  the  conveyance  of  the  great 
truths  of  the  Bible.  For  instance,  we  have  great  difficulty 
in  finding  adequate  words  for  the  expression  of  such  ideas 
as  'love,'  'duty,'  'purity,'  'holiness,'  'faith,'  'hope,'  and  many 
others  I  could  mention.  One's  soul  cries  out  in  agony  for 
these  great  words  that  mean  so  much  to  us. 

"But  it  is  not  surprising  that  there  should  not  be  found 
certain  strictly  Biblical  and  religious  terms.  For  this 
reason,  we  have  sometimes  introduced  and  nativized  certain 
words.  Sometimes  these  are  taken  from  the  Hebrew  and 
Greek  and  sometimes  from  the  French,  since  the  latter  is 
the  official  language  of  the  government  of  the  Congo.  And 
this  corresponds  exactly  to  what  was  done  for  the  English 
language  at  the  time  of  the  introduction  of  Christianity  in 
the  Sixth  century.  Such  words  as  'creed,'  'candle,'  'priest,' 
'church,'  etc.,  came  in  at  that  time.  But  it  is  a  principle 
with  us  not  to  introduce  foreign  words  except  as  a  neces- 
sity. We  prefer  to  let  the  native  words  grow  up  from  a 
common  into  a  Biblical  use  just  as  the  words  'Holy  Ghost,' 
'atone,'  etc.,  have  done  in  English.  Consequently  for  'to 
thank'  we  use  a  word  meaning  to  do  obeisance  to  a  superior 
for  a  favor  done ;  for  'to  pardon'  we  use  a  word  meaning  to 
hide  by  covering  up ;  and  for  'to  repent'  we  use  the  phrase 
meaning  'to  turn  over  the  liver,'  which  is  the  seat  of  afifec- 
tion  for  the  native. 

"Another  difficulty  in  translating  is  to  steer  between  a 
too  free  paraphrastic  form  and  a  too  slavish  adherence  to 
the  original  languages.  H  there  is  to  be  a  fault  in  this  mat- 
ter, I  have  leaned  to  the  paraphrastic  for  the  sake  of  greater 
simplicity.  I  almost  wish  I  had  done  it  more  in  some  in- 
stances, for,  after  all,  every  translation  must  of  necessity 


68  Twenty  Years  in  Africa 

be  something  of  a  commentary  interpreting  the  translator's 
idea  of  the  meaning  of  the  original.  It  is  our  desire  to  be 
sure  that  the  natives  get  the  truth  rather  than  a  mere  jum- 
ble of  meaningless  phrases. 

-'But  lest  my  readers  should  get  the  idea  that  the  native 
language  is  incapable  of  being  a  medium  for  the  conveyance 
of  spiritual  truth,  I  hasten  to  say  that  it  is  very  rich  in 
many  ways.  It  has  many  strong  words  and  apt  expressions 
which  are  wanting  in  English.  In  fact,  we  missionaries, 
in  speaking  English  together,  so  often  interject  these  native 
words  and  apt  expressions  that  we  would  not  be  understood 
by  one  who  could  not  speak  the  language." 

Such  was  the  plan  of  Bible  translation  that  Dr.  Morrison 
outlined,  and  we  believe  it  has  abundantly  justified  itself  in 
what  has  been  accomplished  in  the  training  of  our  native 
Christian  constituency.  It  is  the  unanimous  opinion  of  the 
missionaries  in  the  field  to-day  that  the  "Lessons  from  the 
Bible"  shall  continue  in  use  in  our  regular  day  schools. 
This  gives  the  people  the  story  of  the  Bible  in  a  condensed 
form  and  prepares  them  for  a  study  of  the  Bible  as  a  whole. 
God's  revelation  of  himself  to  man  was  a  progressive  one, 
and  as  man's  knowledge  increased  he  was  thus  prepared 
to  receive  additional  truth.  And  in  dealing  with  a  primitive 
people  it  was  Dr.  Morrison's  idea  to  proceed  along  similar 
lines.  He  followed  the  law  of  growth  in  the  material 
world,  "first  the  grain,  then  the  blade,  then  the  full  corn  in 
the  ear." 

Having  completed  the  work  of  paraphrasing  the  Bible, 
Dr.  Morrison  had  begun  the  literal  translation  of  the  New 
Testament.  By  reason  of  the  multitudinous  duties  thrust 
upon  him,  he  had  only  completed  the  translation  of  the 
four  Gospels  and  Acts  when  he  was  called  to  a  higher 
service. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

IHarnaijf  atib  IRftunt  to  tl|p  Jtf  1& 

The  Young  People's  Missionary  Conference  at  Asheville — Selecting 
a  Mate — Character  of  Mrs.  Morrison — The  Marriage  and  De- 
parture for  Liverpool — Touring  in  England  and  Scotland — The 
Journey  to  Luebo — The  Home  at  Luebo — Training  the  Native 
Boys.  i 

Dr.  Morrison's  labors,  while  at  home,  were  by  no  means 
confined  to  making  pubHc  addresses,  grappling  with  the 
problems  of  an  unwritten  language  and  compiling  dic- 
tionaries. 

In  the  summer  of  1905  he  was  sent  to  the  Young  People's 
Missionary  Conference  at  Asheville,  N.  C,  to  deliver  one 
of  the  principal  addresses.  To  that  Conference  also  came 
a  Miss  Bertha  Stebbins,  who  was  sent  as  a  delegate  from 
the  Presbyterian  Church  of  Natchez,  Miss.  Here  they 
met  for  the  first  time.  She  was  on  the  front  porch  of  the 
hotel  when  he  arrived  and  among  the  first  of  the  new 
friends  to  whom  he  was  presented.  There  seems  to  have 
been  a  mutual  attraction  between  them  from  the  very  be- 
ginning of  their  acquaintance. 

A  beautiful  tribute  to  the  life  of  Mrs.  Morrison  has  al- 
ready been  written  by  her  pastor,  the  late  Rev.  J.  J.  Chisolm, 
D.D.,  under  the  title  of  "Mutoto,  or  the  Perfume  of  the 
Alabaster  Box."  We  recommend  to  our  readers  this  little 
book  which  most  admirably  tells  the  story  of  her  self- 
sacrificing  life. 

We  need  only  state  that  Dr.  Morrison  showed  his  wisdom 
and  soundness  of  judgment  in  the  selection  of  his  mate, 
as  her  all  too  brief  service  in  Africa  so  clearly  indicates. 
She  gave  her  heart  to  God  at  an  early  age  and  became  an 
'.ctive  Christian  w'orker  and  a  leader  among  the  young  peo- 
^e  of  her  community.     When  she  reached  maturity  her 

»n    religious    conviction   manifesting   itself,    she    left   the 


70  Twenty  Years  in  Africa 

church  of  her  parents  and  united  with  the  Presbyterian 
church.  This  was  the  first  step  in  a  series  of  providential 
deahngs  whereby  she  was  led  into  that  service  to  which 
God  was  calling  her. 

She  had  devoted  ten  years  of  her  life  to  teaching  school 
and  had  achieved  the  most  signal  success.  This  success 
was  due  largely  to  the  fact  that  she  regarded  each  pupil  as 
a  person  and  not  merely  as  a  unit  in  the  class.  "She  made 
an  impression  on  her  colleagues  and  pupils,  the  results  of 
which  can  not  be  measured  until  the  final  day ;  she  put  not 
only  her  intellect  into  her  work,  but  also  the  fulness  of  a 
loving  heart,  a  sound  judgment  and  a  consecrated  life." 

During  the  four  years  that  she  spent  in  Natchez  she  was 
closely  associated  with  Dr.  Chisolm  in  his  church  work, 
teaching  in  the  Sunday  School  and  having  charge  of  the 
Westminister  League.  "It  was  in  connection  with  her 
work  in  these  two  organizations  that  her  interest  in  the 
enterprise  of  world-wide  missions  found  a  glad  expression 
and  a  steady  development." 

Dr.  Morrison  and  Miss  Stebbins  were  united  in  marriage 
in  the  Methodist  church  at  Gueydan,  La.,  on  June  14,  1906, 
Dr.  M.  E.  Melvin,  of  Port  Gibson,  Miss.,  a  cousin  of  the 
bride,  officiating  at  the  ceremony. 

They  spent  the  first  month  of  their  long  wedding  tour, 
visiting  friends  and  relatives  in  Mississippi,  Arkansas, 
Tennessee  and  Virginia,  sailing  for  Liverpool  on  July  11, 
on  the  "S.  S.  Majestic." 

Shortly  after  their  arrival  in  London  they  received  word 
that  it  would  be  impossible  to  launch  the  new  "Lapsley" 
until  late  in  September,  and  that  it  would  take  at  least  a 
month  after  the  launching  to  get  the  boat  in  shape  for  a 
voyage.  They  had  practically  completed  the  buying  of  sup- 
plies when  this  news  was  received,  so  the  next  few  weeks 


William  McCutchan  Morrison  71 

were  spent  in  visiting  place  of  historic  interest  in  England 
and  Scotland. 

Dr.  and  Mrs.  Morrison,  with  Dr.  Coppedge,  Mr.  Roches- 
ter and  Miss  Taylor,  the  last  three  new  missionaries,  sailed 
for  the  Congo  on  September  20  on  the  "S.  S.  Bruxelles- 
ville."  This  was  a  new  steamer  and  quite  palatial  in  com- 
parison with  the  former  Congo  boats.  The  long  and 
uneventful  voyage  was  completed  some  twenty-two  days 
later  when  they  landed  at  Matadi.  Here,  as  usual,  several 
days  were  spent  in  making  the  final  preparations  for  an- 
other long  journey  into  the  interior.  At  Matadi  they 
visited  the  grave  of  Lapsley  and  laid  a  tribute  of  flowers 
on  the  spot  sacred  to  all  Congo  missionaries. 

At  this  time  the  little  Congo  railroad,  to  which  reference 
has  already  been  made,  was  completed  and  was  being  oper- 
ated in  its  present  magnificence.  As  customary  with  all 
European  railroads,  the  regular  first,  second  and  third 
class  coaches  were  in  operation.  The  first  two  classes  have 
separate  seats  for  each  passenger,  while  the  third  class 
coach  is  equipped  with  little  narrow,  hard-bottom  and 
straight-backed  seats,  running  cross-wise  and  facing  each 
other.  The  seats  are  so  close  together  that  the  passengers 
opposite  each  other  have  to  sit  with  their  knees  interlocked. 
If  one  desires  to  shift  his  position,  all  must  shift  in  unison. 
The  designer  of  this  car  must  have  drawn  his  inspiration 
from  the  days  of  the  Inquisition,  and  he  succeeded  admira- 
bly in  the  perfection  of  his  art. 

Into  this  third  class  car  went  Dr.  Morrison  and  his  bride, 
together  with  the  other  members  of  the  party.  The  jour- 
ney to  Leopoldville  was  accomplished  in  two  days. 

Upon  their  arrival  at  Leopoldville  they  found  that  the 
engineers  had  miscalculated  the  speed  with  which  they 
hoped  to  complete  the  "Lapsley,"  with  the  result  that  they 
had  before  them  another  long  wait  of  six  weeks  before  they 


72 


Twenty  Years  in  Africa 


were  off  on  the  last  stage  of  their  voyage.  The  maiden 
trip  of  the  "Lapsley"  was  accomphshed  without  accident  or 
mishap  until  they  were  almost  in  sight  of  Luebo,  when  they 
grounded  on  a  sandbar.  The  boat  was  stuck  so  fast  that 
it  required  two  days  of  hard  work  to  float  her  again.  After 
an  hour's  run  they  landed  at  the  Luebo  beach,  just  two 
days  before  Christmas.  Thousands  of  natives  from  all 
sections  of  the  country  were  assembled  on  the  beach  to 
welcome  the  bride  of  "Kuonyi  Nshila"  and  to  get  a  glimpse 
of  the  new  steamer.  The  passengers  were  soon  on  shore 
and  were  carrie'd  in  hammocks  to  the  top  of  the  long  hill 
on  which  the  station  is  located  amid  the  wildest  joy  the 
natives  could  express.  The  next  day  was  spent  in  public 
exercises  of  welcome  to  the  missionaries  and  in  greeting 
numerous   friends. 


THE    I.APSLEY 


Immediately  after  their  arrival  the  Morrisons  went  to 
Ibanche  to  attend  the  regular  Annual  Meeting  of  the  Mis- 
sion. After  a  most  pleasant  visit  there  they  returned  to 
their  work  at  Luebo.    Mrs.  Morrison  set  to  work  unpacking 


William  McCutchan  Morrison  73 

their  goods  and  furnishing  their  little  home.  This  was  a 
small  cottage,  made  of  mud  and  sticks,  with  three  rooms  m 
a  row,  each  about  seventeen  by  fourteen  feet.  The  house 
was  neatly  whitewashed  inside  and  out.  The  ceiling  was 
made  of  split  bamboo  closely  woven  together,  and  the  dirt 
floors  were  covered  with  native  matting. 

The  furniture,  according  to  Mrs.  Morrison's  description, 
was  as  follows :  "Our  cupboards  are  made  of  dry  goods 
boxes  curtained  with  cretonne,  green  ground  and  cherry 
blossoms  and  red  fruit.  Our  bedroom  is  as  dainty  as  can 
be.  The  bed  is  white  enamelled,  trimmed  with  brass.  The 
washstand  is  made  of  a  large  box,  curtained  with  pink 
rose  and  green  vine  cretonne.  The  bureau  is  a  chest  of 
drawers,  made  here,  with  a  nice  mirror  on  top." 

As  for  their  daily  duties,  she  writes :  "We  rise  at  5  145 
A.M.,  and  I  attend  to  some  household  duties,  then  our  morn- 
ing prayers  and  breakfast  at  6:30.  Following  this  come 
Baluba  worship,  when  all  the  children  and  people  in  the 
yard  come  and  sit  on  the  floor  while  we  sing  a  Baluba  hymn. 
My  husband  reads  or  asks  Bible  questions  and  then  a  prayer 
from  one  of  the  children,  all  closing  with  .the  Lord's 
Prayer.  Then  I  hasten  to  dress  sores — there  are  so  many 
here — until  school  time,  when  I  teach  a  class.  By  the  time 
school  is  over  it  is  11  o'clock  and  the  morning  nearly  gone. 
All  during  the  day  people  are  crowding  in  for  this  or  that, 
until  sometimes  one  longs  for  a  little  quiet  rest.  But  we  are 
glad  for  the  people  to  come  to  us  instead  of  taking  the 
opposite  course." 

Dr.  Morrison  threw  himself  into  his  work  whole-hearted- 
ly, being  assisted  and  supported  in  every  way  by  his  noble 
wife.  She  soon  learned  the  language  and  became  a  most 
enthusiastic  worker. 

It  has  always  been  the  policy  of  the  Mission  to  lay  hold 


74  Twenty  Years  in  Africa 

on  as  many  young  people  as  possible  in  order  to  train  them 
in  Christian  service.  It  is  not  difficult  to  maintain  this 
policy,  especially  with  the  boys.  These  boys  are  given  light 
chores  about  the  house  in  order  to  pay  for  their  board  and 
clothing,  but  the  chief  end  in  view  is  not  their  domestic 
service  but  the  training  of  their  character. 

It  was  here  that  Mrs.  Morrison  probably  did  her  greatest 
and  most  lasting  work.  The  same  spirit  that  she  mani- 
fested toward  her  pupils  in  America  was  transferred  to 
those  in  Africa.  Many  of  those  young  boys  that  were  "in 
her  fence"  and  received  their  religious  training  in  her 
home  are  now  holding  positions  of  honor  in  the  native 
church.  Through  their  influence  scores  are  being  born  into 
the  Kingdom  of  Heaven,  and  they  will  all  rise  up  in  the  last 
great  day  to  call  her  blessed. 


CHAPTER  IX 
^rtmtB  iCrabittg  HI))  to  tt|r  (^rtal  at  CraiiolbmUr 

The  Oppression  of  the  Native  People — The  State  and  Chartered 
Companies — Dr.  Sheppard's  Article  in  the  Kasai  Herald — The  Di- 
rector of  the  Kasai  Rubber  Company  Challenges  the  Statements — 
Dr.  Morrison's  Reply — The  British  Consul  Visits  the  Kasai  Dis- 
trict to  Investigate — His  Report  to  His  Government — the  Decline 
in  the  Kasai  Company's  Stock. 

There  is  one  scene  in  the  book  of  Revelation  that  caused 
the  Apostle  John  to  "wonder  with  great  admiration,"  and 
that  was  when  the  beast  received  the  death  stroke  and  yet 
lived.  And  Dr.  Morrison  was  destined  to  have  a  similar 
experience  in  regard  to  the  reforms  in  the  Congo. 

Notwithstanding  all  that  the  Congo  Reform  Association 
in  England  and  America  had  accomplished,  and  in  spite 
of  all  the  fair  promises  that  Belgium  had  made  when  the 
Congo  State  was  released  from  Leopold's  personal  control 
and  made  a  colony,  Dr.  Morrison  soon  found  that  these 
reforms  had  not  been  very  extensive  in  Africa,  nor  were 
those  promises  being  fulfilled  to  its  native  inhabitants.  The 
oppressors  of  the  natives  now  adopted  a  new  form  of  tac- 
tics. These  tactics  are  graphically  described  in  a  letter  that 
Dr.  Morrison  addressed  to  Dr.  Chester  a  few  months  before 
the  Congo  State  became  a  Belgian  colony : 

"Regarding  Congo  State  affairs  and  the  present  situation 
here,  I  need  only  say  that  we  are  not  now  suffering  from 
the  old  forms  of  outrage  so  much — hand-cutting,  slave- 
raiding,  murdering,  etc. — but  I  am  sorry  to  say  that  I  be- 
lieve the  sum  total  of  suffering  is  much  more  than  it  was 
formerly.  Now  the  peo'ple  are  thoroughly  cowed ;  they 
know  from  bitter  experience  that  there  is  no  escaping  from 
the  State.     They,  therefore,  submit  in  stoical  silence.     I 


76  Twenty  Years  in  Africa 

am  almost  surprised  at  discovering,  by  accident,  the  various 
ways  in  which  they  are  wronged.  Demands  are  made  for 
men,  and  the  villages  send  for  them  at  once.  The  Rubber 
Company  demands  rubber  of  the  villages,  and  if  it  is  not 
forthcoming  in  what  they  conceive  to  be  large  enough  quan- 
tities, then  the  village  is  turned  over  to  the  State  and  double 
tribute  has  to  be  paid.  This  subtle  form  of  oppression  is 
not  seen  and  observed  much,  but  it  is  just  as  wrong  as  the 
old  form  of  outrage.  I  believe  that  henceforth  we  shall 
not  see  so  much  the  grosser  forms  of  outrage,  as  the  op- 
pression is  taking  a  more  refined  form.  It  is  now  perfectly 
possible  for  a  man  who  does  not  know  what  to  look  for  and 
how  to  look  for  it,  especially  if  he  does  not  know  the 
language,  to  travel  from  one  end  of  the  Congo  to  the  other 
and  really  see  nothing  of  the  grosser  forms  of  outrages 
which  have  been  so  widely  published  to  the  world.  Then 
he  is  apt  to  go  away  and  leave  the  impression  that  all  is 
well  here  and  the  charges  of  oppression  are  unfounded.  At 
the  same  time,  I  am  confident  that  the  agitation  in  Europe 
and  America  has  done  immense  good  here.  What  would 
have  been  the  situation  if  this  agitation  had  not  been  made ! 

"We  only  know  that  it  would  be  immensely  worse  to-day. 
But  we  must  never  rest  till  the  whole  system  has  been 
rooted  up,  for  there  is  every  possibility  that  things  will 
grow  worse,  for  Leopold  is  still  in  control — he  is  absolute. 
And  what  else  is  to  be  expected?  Moreover,  we  hope  most 
sincerely  that  an  eye  will  be  kept  on  the  matter,  if  the 
State  is  to  be  taken  over  by  Belgium,  to  see  to  it  that  our 
religious  rights  are  preserved,  for  you  know  that  Belgium 
is  one  of  the  most  bigoted  Roman  Catholic  countries  in 
Europe." 

The  wholesale  policy  of  stripping  the  country  of  its  prod- 
ucts, without  attempting  to  develop  it,  was  prosecuted  with 


William  McCutchan  Morrison  yy 

renewed  vigor.  This  policy  was  worked  through  so-called 
"concessionaire  companies,"  which  received  a  charter  from 
the  State,  but  were  supposed  to  operate  independently  of 
the  government.  This  was  a  clever  piece  of  camouflage, 
as  the  State  generally  held  the  controlling  interest. 

Dr.  Morrison  described  the  inter-locking  of  these  com- 
panies with  the  State  in  a  letter  addressed  to  the  Congo 
Reform  Association :  "The  statement  that  is  persistently 
put  forth  by  the  State,  as  an  excuse  for  these  companies, 
is  that  they  are  'controlled,'  that  the  native  is  not  allowed 
to  cut  the  rubber  vines,  that  the  companies  are  compelled 
to  plant  rubber  vines,  etc.  As  an  actual  fact,  within  the 
sound  of  where  I  am  writing  these  words,  I  can  hear  the 
people  beating  the  bark  of  the  rubber  vines,  which  have 
been  stripped,  killing  the  vine  of  course.  Not  only  are  the 
people  not  forbidden  to  do  this,  but  they  are  encouraged  to 
get  rubber  in  any  way.  It  can  thus  be  seen  that  the  only 
desire  of  the  so-called  companies  is  to  gather  the  cream 
of  the  country  as  soon  as  possible,  without  concern  for  the 
future.  I  say  so-called  companies,  because,  as  is  well 
known,  they  are  controlled  absolutely  by  the  .State,  which 
holds  never  less  than  one-half  the  stock  (so  far  as  my 
knowledge  goes).  This  means  that  the  State  and  the  com- 
panies work  hand  in  glove,  and  it  would  surprise  the  unini- 
tiated to  see  with  what  masterly  skill  the  whole  thing  has 
been  worked  out.  I  only  give  one  example.  In  some  places 
in  this  region  the  vState  demands  its  tribute  in  copper 
crosses,  weighing  about  a  pound  each.  It  is  prohibited  to 
import  these ;  the  native  copper  is  necessarily  limited  for  the 
crosses  have  to  be  made  and  brought  from  far  away  in  the 
Katanga  district.  After  the  native  has  paid  his  crosses  to 
the  State  they  are  turned  over  to  the  company.  In  a  little 
while  the  native  \%  ordered  to  bring  in  more  crosses.     But 


78  Twenty  Years  in  Africa 

he  can  only  get  them  from  the  company,  and  that  means 
that  he  must  bring  in  rubber  in  order  to  get  them — heaven 
and  earth  are  turned  upside  down  in  order  to  get  rubber." 

In  another  letter  written  to  a  personal  friend  at  a  later 
date,  he  further  describes  these  conditions :  "The  same  old 
regime  is  still  in  force,  the  same  men  at  Brussels  and  out 
here  are  in  power — what  else  can  be  expected?  If  I  could 
see  a  change  in  government,  with  such  men  as  Vandervelde 
coming  into  power,  there  would  be  some  hope  again.  But 
after  the  dark  months  of  waiting  have  passed  and  after 
witnessing  the  almost  universal  opposition  to  the  English 
and  American  Protestant  missionaries,  who  have  dared  to 
face  the  bitterest  persecution  to  let  the  world  know  of  these 
things  which  are  going  on  here,  and  after  finding  out  that 
King  Leopold  seems  to  be  voicing  the  sentiment  of  the 
great  majority  of  the  Belgian  people  in  his  recent  statement 
that  revenue  must  be  gotten  from  the  Congo  for  the  enrich- 
ment of  Belgium — I  say,  after  finding  out  all  these  things, 
we  now  have  very  grave  doubts  as  to  whether  we  can  ever 
expect  anything  but  a  rule  of  ruin  from  that  source." 

King  Leopold  was  not  the  man  to  accept  public  condem- 
nation and  denunciation  without  taking  revenge  when  a 
favorable  opportunity  presented  itself,  and  Dr.  Morrison 
was  soon  destined  to  become  the  victim  of  this  unprincipled 
ruler  and  his  agents. 

This  opportunity  was  afforded  in  the  January,  1908, 
number  of  the  "Kasai  Herald,"  when  Dr.  Morrison,  as 
editor,  published  an  article  written  by  Dr.  Sheppard  after 
bis  return  from  furlough,  in  which  he  gave  a  brief  descrip- 
tion of  the  changed  conditions  he  found  in  the  Bakuba 
country.  This  little  article  is  quoted  here  in  order  that  the 
reader  may  see  just  how  desperate  these  agents  were  in 
their  efforts   to  make  a   "case"   against  the  missionaries. 


William  McCutciian  Morrison  79 

Dr.  Sheppard  says :  "These  great  stalwart  men  and  women, 
who  have  from  time  immemorial  been  free,  cultivating 
large  farms  of  Indian  corn,  peas,  tobacco,  potatoes,  trapping 
elephants  for  their  ivory  and  leopards  for  their  skins,  who 
have  always  had  their  own  king  and  a  government  not  to 
be  despised,  having  officers  of  the  law  established  in  every 
village  of  the  kingdom — these  magnificent  people,  perhaps 
about  400,000  in  number,  have  entered  a  new  chapter  in 
the  history  of  their  tribe.  Only  a  few  years  ago,  travellers 
through  this  country  found  them  living  in  large  homes,  hav- 
ing from  one  to  four  rooms  in  each  house,  loving  and  living 
happily  with  their  wives  and  children,  one  of  the  most 
prosperous  and  intelligent  of  all  the  African  tribes,  though 
living  in  one  of  the  most  remote  spots  on  the  planet.  One 
seeing  the  happy,  busy,  prosperous  lives  which  they  lived 
could  not  help  feeling  that  surely  the  lines  had  fallen  unto 
this  people  in  pleasant  places. 

"But  within  the  last  three  years  how  changed  they  are ! 
Their  farms  are  growing  up  in  weeds  and  jungle,  their 
king  is  practically  a  slave,  their  houses  are  now  mostly  only 
half-built  single  rooms  and  are  much  neglected.  The  streets 
of  their  towns  are  not  clean  and  well  swept,  as  they  once 
were.  Even  their  children  cry  for  bread.  Why  this 
change?  You  have  it  in  a  few  words.  There  are  armed 
sentries  of  chartered  trading  companies  who  force  the  men 
and  women  to  spend  most  of  their  days  and  nights  in  the 
forests  making  rubber,  and  the  price  they  receive  is  so 
meager  that  they  can  not  live  upon  it." 

The  "Kasai  Herald"  was  circulated,  free  of  charge, 
throughout  the  Congo,  and  a  copy  had  been  sent  to  the 
director  of  the  Kasai  Rubber  Company  at  Dima.  The  said 
director  must  have  had  a  guilty  conscience,  for  he  took 
exception  to  this  article  and  addressed  the  following  letter 


8o  Twenty  Years  in  Africa 

to  Dr.  Morrison,  claiming  that  the  interest  of  the  Company 
was  damaged  and  demanding  an  apology : 

"The  Kasai  Company  is  trading  with  the  Bakuba  people  ; 
and,  though  she  does  not  use  armed  sentries  at  all  and  is 
not  a  chartered  company,  yet  it  can  be  understood  that  she 
is  the  one  referred  to  in  Dr.  Sheppard's  article.  Now,  it 
is  possible  that  the  author's  intention  was  not  to  attack  the 
Company  of  the  Kasai,  which  has  always  had  the  best  and 
most  friendly  relations  with  the  A.  P.  C.  M.  and  whose 
manner  of  treating  the  natives  and  trading  with  them  in 
full  liberty  has  more  than  once  been  approved  by  the 
A.  P.  C.  M.  missionaries.  You  know  we  have  no  armed 
sentries,  but  only  traders  going  about  with  goods  of  ever).' 
kind  and  unarmed  through  the  villages  for  the  purchasing 
of  rubber.  We  use  only  one  single  trading  principle — that 
of  supply  and  demand.  And  the  natives  are  not  forced  to 
make  rubber  for  us  or  to  do  any  other  work;  we  do  not 
have  the  right  or  the  power  to  force  them  to  work,  and  we 
are  not  in  charge  of  collecting  taxes. 

"We  suppose  that  Dr.  Sheppard  must  have  been  drawn 
into  this  error  by  some  wrong  information ;  and  desiring 
that  the  readers  of  the  'Kasai  Herald'  may  not  have  a  false 
impression  of  the  Kasai  Company,  whose  principles  have 
always  been  to  act  in  the  best  way  possible  with  the  natives, 
I  make  an  appeal  to  your  well-known  sense  of  justice  and 
kindness,  asking  you  to  publish  these  lines  in  your  news- 
paper." 

Dr.  Morrison  was  not  to  be  trapped  by  these  smooth 
words  and  made  the  following  reply : 

'T  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your  let- 
ter, in  which  you  take  exception  to  the  article  of  Dr.  Shep- 
pard in  a  recent  issue  of  the  'Kasai  Herald.'  Since  receiv- 
ing your  letter  I  have  written  to  Dr.  Sheppard,  who  lives 


William  McCutciian  Morrison  8i 

in  the  Bakuba  country  and  has  known  them  and  their  coun- 
try intimately  for  over  fifteen  years.  Dr.  Sheppard  asserts 
that  he  is  prepared  to  prove  the  assertions  he  makes  before 
an  impartial  tribunal  which  is  not  itself  personally  inter- 
ested in  the  collection  of  rubber  and  has  not  been  appointed 
by  any  one  so  interested.  Not  only  Dr.  Sheppard,  but  other 
members  of  our  Mission,  can  testify  that  they  are  satisfied 
that  varying  degrees  of  pressure  are  brought  to  bear  not 
only  upon  the  Bakuba  people,  but  other  tribes  in  this  region, 
by  your  Company.  It  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  those 
of  us  living  in  this  region  know  more  about  what  is  actually 
going  on  here  than  you  or  others  who  do  not  live  here.  I 
may  say  that  complaints  are  constantly  coming  to  us  from 
the  natives  to  the  efl:'ect  that  the  agents  of  your  Company 
threaten  them  with  punishment  from  the  State  if  they  do 
not  bring  in  the  amount  of  rubber  imposed.  It  is  undoubt- 
edly true  that  impositions  are  made  on  the  villages,  and 
through  fear  of  the  State  the  natives  make  the  rubber,  for 
which  they  are  paid  only  a  pittance.  I  find  that  in  most 
cases  the  natives  regard  the  rubber  they  bring  to  your 
agents  not  so  much  as  trade,  but  as  a  tax. 

"You  know  that  yours  is  a  monopolistic  company  and  has 
absolute  power  to  set  the  price  of  rubber  in  this  region. 
While  it  may  not  be  a  chartered  company,  as  you  remind 
us,  yet  it  is  practically  so,  for  you  well  know  that  the  State 
would  not  give  any  independent  company  even  the  right 
to  trade  in  this  region. 

"Certainly  the  personal  relations  between  the  members  of 
our  Mission  and  your  Company  have  been  pleasant,  and  it 
is  our  desire  that  they  continue  so,  but  you  will  not  expect 
us  to  allow  this  to  blind  our  eyes  to  the  wrongs  which  we 
see  going  on  about  us. 

"It  would  seem  that,  if  you  had  been  desirous  of  really 


82  Twenty  Years  in  Africa 

knowing  the  truth  about  the  situation  in  this  region,  you 
would  have  instituted  an  impartial  investigation,  without 
presuming,  as  the  tone  of  your  letter  implies,  that  Dr.  Shep- 
pard  only  ignorantly  or  maliciously  maligned  your  Com- 
pany. If  you  were  pained  and  astonished  that  Dr.  Sheppard 
should  write  such  things,  I  must  say  that  I  am  equally 
astonished  and  pained  that  you  should  so  hastily  conclude 
that  a  man  of  Dr.  Sheppard's  long  residence  in  the  Congo 
and  his  well-known  integrity  should  write  a  serious  article 
of  this  kind  without  knowing  what  he  was  doing.  It  might 
have  at  least  raised  a  question  in  your  mind  and  caused  you 
to  institute  an  impartial  investigation,  in  which  both  your 
Company  and  Dr.  Sheppard  would  participate. 

"I  sincerely  regret  to  be  compelled  to  write  you  so  plainly 
about  this  matter,  but  your  letter  seemed  to  imply  that  we 
were  ignorantly,  or  perhaps  purposely,  saying  what  was 
not  true. 

"Before  closing  I  will  state  that  for  some  time  we  have 
been  very  uneasy  about  the  situation  in  the  Bakuba  country. 
The  chief,  Lukenga,  who,  as  you  know,  was  only  a  short 
time  age  in  revolt  and  destroyed  one  or  two  of  your  Com- 
pany posts  and  one  of  our  Mission  stations,  now  has  several 
scores  of  soldiers  dressed  like  State  soldiers  and  armed 
with  cap  guns,  and  these  soldiers  are  used  by  him,  under 
the  authority  of  your  Company,  in  terrifying  the  people  into 
making  rubber.  Just  recently  I  have  made  complaint  to 
several  State  officials  about  this  dangerous  situation,  but 
none  of  them  seemed  to  know  anything  about  it.  Lest  you 
should  not  believe  me  I  send  you  a  photograph  of  some  of 
these  men,  taken  some  months  ago. 

"Finally,  I  will  say  that  we  do  not  blame,  personally,  the 
individual  agents  and  officials  of  your  Company,  except  in 
so  far  as  they  may  purposely  misrepresent  the  facts;  but 


William  McCutchan  Morrison  83 

we  do  and  must  condemn  this  whole  monopoHstic  system 
by  which  the  country  is  being  ruthlessly  stripped  of  its  nat- 
ural products,  with  the  natives  getting  but  little  return — 
your  Company,  in  the  meanwhile,  paying  to  its  stockholders 
enormous  dividends,  if  the  available  figures  are  correct. 

"In  regard  to  your  request  that  your  letter  denying  the 
charges  of  Dr.  Sheppard  be  published  in  the  next  issue  of 
the  'Kasai  Herald,'  I  must  say  that  it  is  impossible  to  com- 
ply with  this  request  until  you  prove  before  an  impartial 
tribunal  that  the  statements  as  made  by  Dr.  Sheppard  are 
untrue ;  then  your  letter  will  be  published  most  gladly,  for 
we  would  not  willingly  do  an  injustice  to  the  Kasai  Com- 
pany. 

"Hoping  that  you  may  see  your  way  clear  to  conserve  the 
interests  not  only  of  your  Company,  but  also  of  the  natives 
and  their  country,  I  am,  yours  very  sincerely." 

Quite  a  voluminous  correspondence  passed  between  Dr. 
Morrison  and  the  director  of  the  Company,  the  latter  grow- 
ing all  the  more  haughty  and  insolent  in  his  "indignant" 
denials  of  the  facts  presented,  while  the  former  grew  all  the 
more  bold  and  fearless  in  the  presentation  of  evidence  gath- 
ered from  his  own  personal  observation. 

The  challenge,  laid  down  by  Dr.  Morrison,  that  an  im- 
partial commission  be  appointed  to  investigate  the  situation 
on  the  spot,  was,  of  course,  not  accepted  by  the  Company. 
They  knew  quite  well  what  the  results  of  such  an  investiga- 
tion would  reveal,  and  they  could  best  deny  the  truth  when 
the  outside  world  was  unenlightened. 

There  seemed  to  be  no  one  in  the  Congo  or  even  in 
Belgium  itself  who  was  interested  enough  in  the  welfare 
of  the  natives  to  investigate  these  conditions,  yet  the  appeal 
of  Dr.  Morrison  was  not  in  vain. 

The   fact  that  the  British  Government   felt  itself  under 


84  Twenty  Years  in  Africa 

moral  obligation  to  send  its  own  consul  to  investigate  these 
wrongs  is  sufficient  commentary  on  the  sincerity  of  Bel- 
gium's pledge  to  promote  the  reforms  to  which  she  had 
committed  herself. 

In  the  month  of  February,  1908,  the  British  Government 
ordered  their  representative  in  the  Congo,  Consul  Wilfred 
G.  Thesinger,  to  make  an  extended  tour  througii  the  country 
to  investigate  the  many  complaints  that  were  coming  in 
from  all  quarters.  In  the  covirse  of  his  journey  he  visited 
the  Kasai  District,  the  field  of  operation  of  the  Kasai  Rub- 
ber Company.  As  Sheppard  was  the  only  foreigner  in  that 
section  who  knew  the  Bakuba  language,  the  Consul  re- 
quested him  to  accompany  him  on  his  trip.  Dr.  Sheppard 
readily  accepted  the  invitation  as  a  matter  of  common  cour- 
tesy and  out  of  personal  accommodation  to  the  Consul  him- 
self. The  Consul  visited  many  native  villages  and  after  a 
thorough  personal  investigation,  he  dispatched  a  carefully 
worded  report  to  His  Majesty,  the  King  of  England. 

Perhaps  we  might  quote  a  few  lines  from  this  report  for 
the  sake  of  those  who  may  be  disposed  to  criticise  Dr.  Mor- 
rison for  unwarranted  interference  in  State  affairs.  It  will 
at  least  clear  him  of  any  charges  of  exaggeration  in  his 
statement  of  the  facts. 

Here  are  some  of  the  facts  presented  in  this  report  which 
was  sent  from  Boma,  September  9,  1908 : 

"With  regard  to  the  Kasai  Company,  I  find  that  in  their 
dealings  with  the  native  population  they  habitually  disre- 
gard the  regulations  for  the  prevention  of  wilful  waste  of 
the  rubber  resources  of  the  country  and  cast  aside  every 
restriction  imposed  upon  them  for  the  purpose  of  safe- 
guarding native  rights.  This  systematic  violation  of  the 
Congo  Free  State  laws  can  not  be  carried  on  without  the 
knowledge  of  the  directors  of  the  Company,  and  it  would 


William  McCutchan  Morrison  85 

be  impossible  but  for  the  wilful  blindness,  if  not  actual 
connivance,  of  the  State  officials  themselves. 

"I  am  in  a  position  to  vouch  for  the  truth  of  the  follow- 
ing facts : 

"i.  That  in  all  the  country  through  which  I  passed,  where 
this  Company  has  established  posts,  their  agents  have  is- 
sued orders  that  the  vines  are  to  be  cut,  and  not  tapped 
as  in  the  past,  the  quantity  of  rubber  procurable  from  the 
latter  method  not  being  sufficiently  large  to  satisfy  the  greed 
of  the  Company.  There  are  stringent  laws  against  this 
cutting  of  rubber  vines,  and  the  State  forest  inspectors  are 
supposed  to  report  to  the  authorities  all  cases  which  come 
under  their  notice. 

"The  wholesale  destruction  of  the  vines  now  going  on 
unchecked  can  be  imagined  when  I  say  that  the  thirty-one 
villages  which  I  visited  in  the  Bakuba  district  send  in 
monthly  173,000  balls  of  rubber  weighing  on  an  average 
from  22  to  28  pounds  per  1,000,  and  that  experiments  show 
that  it  takes  from  20  to  40  feet  of  vine  to  make  10  balls. 
From  reliable  evidence  I  hear  that  the  same  system  is  pur- 
sued in  other  districts  which  I  was  unable  to  visit. 

"2.  That,  although  the  Kasai  Company  claim  that  their 
rubber  is  made  by  voluntary  labor,  that  it  is  in  no  way  a 
tax,  and  that  the  agents  have  neither  the  right  nor  the 
power  to  force  the  natives  to  bring  it  in,  each  village  is 
taxed  so  many  balls  a  month,  and  any  shortage  is  punished 
by  imprisonment,  fines,  or  'chicotte,'*  while  the  amount 
fixed  is  so  high  that  the  natives,  especially  the  Bakuba,  have 
no  time  to  cultivate  their  fields,  repair  their  houses,  hunt  or 
fish. 

"3.  That,  although  the  Company  deny  the  employment  of 
armed  sentries,  they  have  in  every  village  or  group  of  vil- 

*A  whip  made  from  hippopotamus  hide. 


86  Twenty  Years  in  Africa 

lages  one  or  more  'kapitas,'  or  native  agents,  who  are,  with 
few  exceptions,  all  armed  with  cap  guns.  The  State  law 
prohibits  the  carrying  of  cap  guns  by  the  kapitas  of  the 
Companies,  who  have  to  deal  with  the  natives  in  commercial 
matters.  It  may  be  mentioned  that  the  natives  have  to  sup- 
ply gratis  to  these  kapitas  food,  palm  wine,  a  house,  and  a 
woman. 

"4.  That,  while  no  trader  or  commercial  agent  has  any 
right  to  punish  any  native  by  imprisonment  or  flogging,  the 
Kasai  Company  agents  not  only  punish  the  natives  in  these 
and  other  ways  for  any  shortage  in  the  month's  supply  of 
rubber,  but  allow  their  native  kapitas  to  usurp  the  same 
powers  in  the  fullest  measure  in  the  villages  under  their 
charge.  I  heard  of  three  cases  in  which  the  kapitas  im- 
prisoned women  in  order  to  bring  pressure  upon  the  men. 

"5.  That,  while  the  Company  deny  that  they  make  any 
military  raids  to  enforce  the  collection  of  rubber,  they  do 
force  Lukenga,  king  of  the  Bakuba,  to  carry  out  these  raids 
for  them  with  his  native  soldiers,  who,  to  the  number  of 
some  three  hundred  or  more  are  all  armed  with  cap  guns. 
These  soldiers  can  be  met  with  all  over  the  Bakuba  terri- 
tory scouring  the  country  for  the  purpose  of  enforcing  the 
rubber  tax  and  collecting  fines  for  the  benefit  of  the  Kasai 
Company. 

"With  regard  to  the  position  of  the  government  in  refer- 
ence to  these  abuses,  they  must  either  confess  their  utter 
incompetency  to  enforce  their  own  laws,  so  far  as  these 
Companies  are  concerned,  or  confess  their  complicity  in 
these  practices. 

"Much  credit  is  taken  by  the  State  and  Company  for  the 
abolition  of  the  tax  in  copper  crosses,  but  this  tax  has  been 
supplanted  by  still  more  unjustifiable  methods  of  extortion, 
and  I  have  no  hesitation  in  affirming  that  the  Kasai  Com- 


William  McCutciian  Morrison  87 

pany,  even  if  judged  by  Congo  Free  State  law,  has  justly 
forfeited  every  right  to  the  privileges  granted  them  by  the 
government  in  ^December,  1901,  and  that  no  method  of 
reform  or  change  of  administration  will  be  of  any  real 
benefit  to  the  people  of  this  district  unless  it  includes  the 
entire  abolition  of  this  Company,  which  has  so  long  been 
held  up  as  a  model  of  what  a  concessionary  company 
should  be." 

This  very  able  and  statesmanlike  report  was  submitted  to 
both  Houses  of  Parliament  in  January,  1909,  by  special 
command  of  the  King. 

As  a  result  of  the  publication  of  this  report  and  the  agita- 
tion that  followed  it,  public  indignation  was  aroused  and 
the  stock  of  the  Kasai  Rubber  Company  suffered  a  severe 
slump.  The  directors  of  the  Company  were  at  a  loss  to 
know  what  to  do.  Their  denials  of  the  facts  presented  in 
the  Consul's  report  availed  them  nothing,  so  something 
must  be  done  to  reestablish  themselves  before  the  world 
and  rehabilitate  their  declining  stock.  What  could  they  do? 
Certainly,  it  was  beyond  their  power  to  deal  with  the  official 
representative  of  the  British  Government  and  yet  something 
must  be  done  to  replenish  their  treasury.  After  a  brief 
consultation  they  evidently  decided  upon  the  following 
course :  they  would  bring  suit  against  those  missionaries 
who  were  responsible  for  the  agitation.  Having  determined 
upon  this  course  they  lost  no  time  in  putting  it  into  execu- 
tion, the  results  of  which  are  delineated  in  the  following 
chapter. 


CHAPTER  X 

(Ulir  ©rial  at  ICpopolliuillp 

Dr.  Morrison  a  Marked  Man — Sued  for  Libel  by  the  Kasai  Company 
— The  Summons  of  Drs.  Morrison  and  Sheppard — Dr.  Morrison 
Notifies  the  Office  of  the  Trial — Unscrupulous  Methods  in  the 
Trial — The  Time  and  Place  Set  for  the  Trial — Dr.  Morrison  Ap- 
peals to  the  American  Consul — The  Consul  Seeks  Counsel  for  the 
Defendants — The  Trial  Postponed — Dr.  Chester  Appeals  to  the 
Government  at  Washington — Influential  Friends  Protest  in  Be- 
half of  Dr.  Morrison — Mr.  Vandervelde  Secured  to  Act  for  the 
Defendants — The  Trial — Speech  of  the  Prosecuting  Attorney — 
Mr.  Vandervelde's  Able  Defense — The  Acquittal — Judgment 
against  the  Company. 

We  now  come  to  one  of  the  most  dramatic  episodes  in 
the  history  of  modern  missions,  the  trial  of  Drs.  Morrison 
and  Sheppard  for  alleged  libelous  charges  against  the  Kasai 
Rubber  Company. 

From  the  time  that  Dr.  Morrison  came  into  prominence 
in  the  fight  for  Congo  reforms  he  was  a  marked  man  in 
the  eyes  of  the  officials  of  the  Congo  State.  A  mere  perusal 
of  the  article  written  by  Dr.  Sheppard  in  the  "Kasai  Her- 
ald" will  convince  anyone  that  there  was  very  little  evidence 
in  it  on  which  to  base  a  libel  suit ;  how  much  less  ground 
then  for  implicating  Dr.  Morrison  as  editor  of  that  paper. 

Dr.  Morrison  was  not  the  man  to  dodge  responsibility 
on  a  mere  technicality,  and  in  the  true  spirit  of  unselfishness, 
he  assumed  the  main  responsibility  from  the  very  beginning. 

He  had  already  become  a  man  of  international  reputation 
and  was  the  central  figure  in  the  trial.  We  have  already 
stated  that  Dr.  Morrison,  as  legal  representative  and 
spokesman  for  the  Mission,  had  conducted  the  correspond- 
ence with  the  director  of  the  Kasai  Company  and,  from  the 
tone  of  the  letters  he  received  from  that  gentleman,  was 


90  Twenty  Years  in  Africa 

not  greatly  surprised  when  he  was  notified  that  he  was  to 
be  prosecuted. 

The  following  summons  was  dated  February  23,  1909 : 

"At  the  request  of  the  Company  Kasai,  whose  headquar- 
ters are  at  Dima,  proceedings  are  instituted  by  its  director 
in  Africa,  Mr.  Louis  Napoleon  Chaltin,  acting  in  virtue  of 
the  power  of  attorney  authenticated  September  nth,  1908, 
and  deposited  at  the  record  office  at  Leopoldville  on  Decem- 
ber 4th,  1908;  and  if  the  need  arises  proceedings  will  be 
instituted  by  Mr.  Victorien  Lacourt  in  his  capacity  of  gen- 
eral director  of  the  Kasai  Company. 

"Whereas  the  person  summoned  under  number  one  has 
on  the  date  of  January  ist,  1908,  printed  in  the  'Kasai 
Herald,'  a  paper  published  at  Luebo  and  edited  by  the  per- 
son summoned  under  number  two,  circulated  not  only  in 
the  Congo  but  in  foreign  countries,  especially  in  America, 
the  said  article  containing  lying  affirmations  and  very  dam- 
aging to  the  plaintift,  casting  blame  on  her,  tarnishing  the 
honorabilit}'  of  her  dealings  and  injuring  her  interests. 

"Whereas,  after  having  compared  the  so-called  prosper- 
ity of  the  Bakuba  people,  several  years  ago  with  their  pres- 
ent fictitious  misery,  the  first  summoned  dared  to  put  in 
print  this  question,  'Why  this  transformation?'  and  then 
answered  it  in  a  few  words  as  follows,  'There  are  armed 
sentries  posted  by  chartered  companies,  which  compel  the 
men  and  women  to  spend  the  best  parts  of  the  day  and  even 
the  night  in  the  making  of  rubber,  and  the  price  paid  in 
exchange  is  so  small  that  the  people  can  not  live  upon  it.' 

"Whereas,  in  using  the  words  'chartered  companies,' 
Dr.  Sheppard  certainly  aims  at  the  Company  Kasai,  since 
being  on  the  spot  he  knows  that  there  is  no  other  company 
gathering  rubber  in  that  section,  and  it  is  impossible  for 
him  to  aim  at  another  company  since  it  has  been  made 


William  McCutciian  Morrison  91 

known  everywhere  by  certain  articles  that  have  been  writ- 
ten reproaching  the  State  for  having  given  the  Kasai  Com- 
pany the  monoply  of  the  rubber  trade  in  the  Kasai  District. 

"Whereas  the  person  summoned  under  number  two  is 
the  co-author,  in  his  capacity  of  responsible  editor  of  the 
'Kasai  Herald,'  of  the  damaging  facts  stated  by  Dr.  Shep- 
pard,  as  above  indicated. 

"Whereas  the  summoned  knew  that  the  allegations  made 
against  the  plaintiff  are  false  and  having  been  reminded  of 
their  error  they  have  retracted  nothing. 

"Wherefore  I,  the  undersigned,  Emile  Edgar  Kocher, 
bailiff  with  the  Court  of  Justice  of  the  First  Instance  sit- 
ting at  Leopoldville,  resident  at  Luebo,  hereby  summon : 
I.  W.  H.  Sheppard,  of  the  American  Presbyterian  Congo 
Mission,  resident  at  Ibanche,  as  speaking  through  Dr.  Mor- 
rison, legal  representative  of  the  said  Mission. 

"2.  W.  M.  Morrison,  a  missionary  of  the  American  Pres- 
byterian Congo  Mission,  responsible  editor  of  the  'Kasai 
Herald,'  resident  at  Luebo,  as  speaking  for  himself,  to  ap- 
pear before  the  Court  of  the  First  Instance,  sitting  at 
Leopoldville  on  May  25,  1909,  at  9  a.m. 

"For  the  reasons  given  above  they  are  hereby  condemned 
to  pay  cojointly  to  the  plaintiff  the  sum  of  80,000  francs 
($16,000)  as  indemnity  for  the  damage  done  and  to  pub- 
lish the  judgment  in  the  next  issue  of  the  'Kasai  Herald/ 
and  to  bear  the  costs  of  the  action.  And  that  they  may  not 
ignore  this  summons  as  given  above,  I  have  left  with  each 
of  them  a  copy  of  the  present  writ. 

"The  Bailiff,  E.  E.  Kocher." 

Upon  the  receipt  of  this  summons  Dr.  Morrison  ad- 
dressed the  following  letter  to  Dr.  Chester:  "Well,  the 
long-threatened    suit    of    the    monopolistic    company    here 


92  Twenty  Years  in  Africa 

against  Sheppard  and  myself  has  at  last  materialized.  The 
summons  came  to  us  a  few  days  ago.  The  grounds  of  the 
suit  are  the  publication  in  the  'Kasai  Herald'  of  certain 
statements,  'utterly  false,  which  have  brought  great  damage 
to  the  Company.'  I  judge,  however,  from  the  way  the 
summons  is  worded  that  there  will  not  be  very  much  effort 
to  disprove  our  statements  with  reference  to  abusing  the 
natives,  which  is  really  the  point  at  issue,  but  the  whole 
trial  is  to  center  around  a  quibble  about  the  word  'char- 
tered,' which  occurs  in  the  article.  The  Company  contends 
that  it  is  not  a  chartered  company.  Of  course  what  the 
difference  between  a  'chartered  company'  and  a  'conces- 
sionary company'  is  may  not  be  very  plain  to  the  average 
man,  but  these  people  are  grabbing  at  straws  in  their  efforts 
to  defend  themselves  and  the  system  which  they  have  put 
into  operation,  which  system  they  mean  to  perpetuate 
under  the  new  regime  here  unless  the  powers  intervene." 

We  can  judge  from  Dr.  Morrison's  interpretation  of  the 
case  that  the  Company  was  aiming  in  the  trial  not  so  much 
the  recouping  of  their  finances,  but  rather  the  moral  effect 
that  a  judgment  against  the  missionaries  would  have  on 
the  outside  world.  If  they  could  silence  the  missionaries 
they  could  soon  reestablish  their  reputation  before  the 
world. 

We  have  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  report  of 
Consul  Thesinger  was  presented  to  the  Houses  of  Parlia- 
ment in  the  month  of  January,  1909,  and  that  the  slump  in 
the  Company's  stock  took  place  immediately  thereafter. 
It  is  interesting,  therefore,  to  note  that  the  summons 
of  Drs.  Morrison  and  Sheppard  was  dated  on  February 
23,  more  than  a  year  after  the  publication  of  the  "lying 
affirmations"  in  the  "Kasai  Herald."  But,  strange  to  say, 
the  "damage  to  the  plaintiff"  for  some  reason  did  not  occur 


94  Twenty  Years  in  Africa 

until  after  the  publication  of  the  Consul's  report.  There- 
fore, we  are  doubtless  warranted  in  placing  the  interpreta- 
tion on  the  case,  as  indicated  in  the  last  chapter;  the  Com- 
pany could  not  bring  suit  againt  the  Consul,  so  in  their 
despair  they  turned  on  the  missionaries. 

Their  desire  to  secure  "justice"  is  revealed  by  the 
unscrupulous  methods  with  which  they  hoped  to  prosecute 
the  case.  Let  us  notice  that  the  trial  was  to  take  place  at 
Leopoldville,  which  is  over  one  thousand  miles  from  where 
the  atrocities  were  being  committed.  This  made  it  exceed- 
ingly difficult  to  secure  native  witnesses,  as  the  Bakuba 
people  are  very  timid  and  rarely  ever  make  a  journey  of 
any  great  distance  from  their  homes. 

Then,  too,  the  trial  was  set  for  May  25th,  after  the  be- 
ginning of  the  dry  season.  This  would  not  involve  so  much 
in  America,  with  our  system  of  railroads  where  travel  does 
not  entail  any  difficulties,  but  this  is  not  the  case  in  Africa. 
The  only  means  the  missionaries  had  of  reaching  the  scene 
of  the  trial  was  by  means  of  a  river  steamer.  The  dry 
season  commences  about  May  i,  at  which  time  the  smaller 
streams,  such  as  the  Lulua,  fall  very  rapidly,  making  navi- 
gation most  difficult.  In  those  days  no  vessel  of  any  de- 
scription attempted  to  reach  Luebo  after  the  beginning  of 
the  dry  season,  communication  with  the  outside  world  being 
cut  off.  The  "L,apsley"  has  a  very  deep  draught  and  never 
attempts  to  get  in  or  out  of  Luebo  between  May  ist  and 
October  ist. 

Notwithstanding  these  difficulties,  they  were  warned  by 
the  Court  that  in  the  event  they  should,  for  any  reason, 
fail  to  appear  at  the  appointed  hour,  the  trial  would  pro- 
ceed without  them  and  the  judgment  would  be  rendered. 

As  soon  as  Dr.  Morrison  learned  these  facts  he  imme- 
diately appealed  to  the  American  Consul  at  Boma,  the  Hon. 


William  McCutchan  Morrison  95 

Wm.  W.  Handley,  who  lost  no  time  in  taking  up  the  matter 
with  the  legal  authorities,  trying  to  induce  them  to  postpone 
the  trial  to  a  later  date.  He  pointed  out  the  great  diffi- 
culties that  would  attend  the  journey  of  the  missionaries 
at  the  time  set  for  the  trial  and  asked  for  the  postponement 
as  a  matter  of  courtesy.  At  first  he  was  unsuccessful  and 
was  informed  by  the  judge,  in  a  very  pompous  manner, 
that  this  was  a  matter  for  Dr.  Morrison  to  solve  for  him- 
self. 

Upon  the  receipt  of  this  advice  Mr.  Handley  immediate- 
ly dispatched  a  letter  to  Dr.  Morrison  informing  him  of 
failure  to  secure  a  postponement  of  the  trial  and  urging 
him  to  put  forth  every  effort  to  reach  Leopoldville  at  the 
appointed  time.  In  the  meantime  he  set  to  work  to  secure 
counsel  for  the  defendants,  as  he  foresaw  that  the  trial 
would  hinge  on  technicalities.  The  Kasai  Company  had 
already  secured  the  best  lawyer  they  could  find  in  Belgium 
and  had  also  retained  the  services  of  the  only  desirable 
French  lawyer  at  Brazzaville,  just  across  the  Congo  River 
from  Leopoldville.  The  Consul  had  tried  to  secure  the 
services  of  this  lawyer  as  well  as  that  of  several  others 
but  had  been  unsuccessful.  He,  therefore,  appealed  to  the 
Governor-General  of  the  Colony  at  Boma,  asking  him  to 
furnish  a  lawyer  attached  to  the  Court  of  Justice  tO'  act 
for  the  defendants.  To  this  request  he  received  the  follow- 
ing reply :  "It  is  the  rule  that  the  magistrates  attached  to 
the  ofifice  of  the  Director  of  Justice  can  not  be  designated 
to  assist  private  individuals  before  civil  tribunals. 

"Another  point  is  to  be  taken  into  consideration.  You 
know  that  the  Reverend  Drs.  Morrison  and  Sheppard  have 
not  spared  the  administration  on  the  occasion  of  their 
attack  on  the  Kasai  Company.  A  letter,  which  Dr.  Mor- 
rison wrote  me  last  October,  containing  violent  criticisms 
—4— 


96  Twenty  Years  in  Africa 

of  the  Government,  is  the  proof.  Now,  there  is  ground  to 
consider  the  hypothesis,  apropos  of  the  suit  at  Leopold- 
ville,  in  which  the  reverend  gentlemen  of  the  American 
Mission  would  believe  themselves  bound  to  renew  their 
criticisms.  It  is  evident  that  the  missionaries  could  not 
ask  their  lawyer,  a  colonial  official,  to  associate  himself 
with  them  in  their  attacks  against  the  administration;  and, 
on  the  other  hand,  it  is  necessary  for  the  lawyer  to  have 
entire  liberty  of  action." 

The  Consul  had,  therefore,  sought  counsel  at  every  avail- 
able source  without  result. 

As  Dr.  Morrison  had  foreseen,  they  were  unable  to 
reach  Leopoldville  on  the  appointed  date,  so  our  Consul 
appeared  in  Court  in  their  behalf,  stating  that  they  had 
been  unavoidably  detained ;  and,  as  no  counsel  had  been 
secured  for  them,  he  requested  that  the  trial  be  postponed. 
A  representative  of  the  Kasai  Company  concurred  in  this 
request,  as  their  own  counsel  had  not  yet  arrived  from 
Belgium,  suggesting  that  the  trial  should  be  postponed  in 
order  to  allow  the  defendants  time  to  secure  a  lawyer  from 
Europe.  The  judge,  therefore,  granted  this  joint  request 
and  fixed  the  date  of  the  trial  for  July  30th,  which  even 
then  allowed  them  very  little  time  to  secure  a  lawyer  in 
Europe  and  get  him  out  to  the  Congo.  It  would  take  over 
three  weeks  to  get  a  letter  to  Europe  and  the  same  length 
of  time  for  the  lawyer  to  make  the  voyage. 

While  these  events  were  transpiring  in  the  Congo  the 
news  of  the  trial  was  just  reaching  the  authorities  at 
Washington.  Upon  the  receipt  of  the  summons  Dr.  Mor- 
rison immediately  communicated  with  Dr.  Chester,  in 
Nashville,  who  took  up  the  matter  with  the  Secretary  of 
State,  Philander  C.  Knox,  at  Washington.  From  the  facts 
that  had  been  presented  to  him.  Dr.  Chester  drew  up  a  very 


William  McCutchan  Morrison  97 

able  report  of  the  whole  case,  which  he  presented  to  the 
Secretary  for  his  consideration.*  This  report  was  fol- 
lowed by  many  strong  and  convincing  letteii  t'nd  constant 
pressure  was  brought  to  bear  on  the  State  Department. 
Dr.  Chester  voluntarily  laid  aside  his  many  pressmg  duties 
in  the  office  at  Nashville  and  made  a  number  of  trips  to 
Washington  to  interview  the  authorities  in  person.  He  was 
untiring  in  his  efforts  and  did  not  rest  until  the  State  De- 
partment agreed  to  take  a  very  decided  stand  in  demanding 
a  just  and  fair  trial  for  the  American  citizens.  The  State 
Department  was  largely  influenced  in  the  position  they  took 
by  the  famous  Stannard  case.  Mr.  Stannard,  an  English 
missionary,  had  been  arraigned  before  a  Congo  Court  for 
alleged  libelous  statements  and  appeared  in  Leopoldville 
with  a  number  of  native  witnesses  to  substantiate  his 
charges.  These  witnesses  were  seized  by  the  State  authori- 
ties and  imprisoned  and  so  terrorized  that  they  were  afraid 
to  testify  against  the  State.  Mr.  Stannard  was,  accord- 
ingly, condemned  to  pay  a  very  heavy  fine,  and  the  State 
officials  published  their  moral  vindication  to  the  world. 
Then  the  British  Government  took  a  hand  in  the  case,  with 
the  result  that  the  decision  was  reversed  in  short  order ; 
but  this  decision  received  very  little,  if  any,  publicity. 

Our  Government,  therefore,  stated  most  emphatically, 
in  the  very  beginning,  that  no  such  treatment  of  native 
witnesses  in  this  case  would  be  tolerated. 

The  multitude  of  influential  friends  that  Dr.  Morrison 
had  made  while  on  furlough,  now  came  to  his  rescue,  and 
delegation  after  delegation  visited  Washington  on  his 
behalf. 

The  Northern  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  General  As- 
sembly, meeting  at  Denver,  Colo.,  sent  the  following  reso- 

*See  Appendix  B. 


98  Twenty  Years  in  Africa  " 

lution  to  the  State  Department :  "Resolved,  that  since  two 
honored  and  beloved  missionaries  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  U.  S.,  stationed  in  the  Kasai  District  of  the  Congo, 
are  about  to  be  brought  to  trial  before  the  Belgian  Court  of 
the  Congo  Free  State,  on  a  charge  of  libeling  a  Belgian  rub- 
ber company;  and  since  the  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  U.  S.,  now  in  session,  hdS  appealed  to  President 
Taft  and  the  State  Department  in  their  behalf  and  it  is  re- 
ported that  our  Government  will  be  represented  at  the  trial, 
this  Assembly  hereby  joins  the  request  to  our  Government 
to  protect  Drs.  Morrison  and  Sheppard  by  seeing  that  they 
have  a  fair  trial  and  a  just  verdict." 

The  record  of  the  events  which  we  are  now  narrating 
would  be  incomplete  without  reference  to  our  agent  in 
London,  Mr.  Robert  Whyte.  We  have  indicated  something 
of  the  part  he  played  in  the  Congo  reforms,  but  he  played 
a  still  more  important  part  in  the  trial  of  Dr.  Morrison. 
From  the  very  beginning  of  our  mission  he  has  proved 
himself  a  staunch  friend,  and  this  interest  was  now  greatly 
augmented  by  his  personal  admiration  for  Dr.  Morrison 
and  his  deep  sympathy  for  the  cause  he  advocated.  As 
soon  as  he  learned  of  the  trial  he  interviewed  men  high  in 
official  circles  in  England  and  insisted  that  they  take  a 
definite  stand  in  urging  that  justice  should  prevail.  But 
the  greatest  service  he  rendered  was  in  the  securing  of  a 
lawyer  to  act  for  the  defendants. 

We  have  seen  that  the  only  course  open  to  the  mission- 
aries was  to  secure  counsel  from  Europe.  Mr.  Whyte  im- 
mediately set  to  work  to  secure  the  very  best  lawyer  that 
Belgium  could  produce.  He  was  familiar  with  the  part 
that  the  Honorable  Emil  Vandervelde  had  played  in  advo- 
cating the  cause  of  Congo  reforms  in  the  Belgian  Parlia- 


William  McCutchan  Morrison  99 

ment.  Therefore,  Mr.  Whyte  approached  him  with  tlie 
proposition  of  defending  the  missionaries. 

Mr.  Vandervelde  welcomed  this  opportunity  of  investi- 
gating personally  the  conditions  in  the  Congo  and  gladly 
laid  aside  his  official  duties  to  make  the  long  journey  to 
Leopoldville  in  order  to  see  that  justice  was  meted  out. 

W'hen  he  was  preparing  to  sail  for  the  Congo  someone 
reproached  him  for  leaving  his  official  duties  and  going  so 
far  to  defend  "strangers,"  to  which  he  replied  in  words 
worthy  to  be  remembered,  "No  man  is  a  stranger  in  a  court 
of  justice." 

The  new^s  that  such  an  eminent  jurist  was  to  take  part 
in  the  trial  came  as  a  great  relief  to  our  missionaries,  for 
they  w'ere  now  assured  that  their  case  w^as  in  the  hands  of  a 
man  well  qualified  in  every  way  to  defend  them.  The 
prosecutors  received  the  new-  of  his  coming  with  fear  and 
trembling  and  w^ould  gladly  have  given  up  the  case  if  they 
had  had  the  courage. 

There  were  other  delays  by  both  parties  in  the  case, 
which  led  to  its  postponement  until  September  30th,  1909. 
On  this  date  Drs.  Morrison  and  Sheppard  were  summoned 
before  the  Court  of  the  First  Instance  at  Leopoldville,  and 
the  trial  began.  It  appears  from  the  records  that  an  error 
occurred  in  the  summons,  which  changed  the  whole  aspect 
of  the  trial.  The  Clerk  of  the  Court  had  been  directed 
by  the  directors  of  the  Kasai  Company  to  serve  two  dis- 
tinct summons  :  one  on  Dr.  Morrison  for  charges  brought 
against  them  in  his  correspondence  with  the  director  at 
Dima,  in  which  damages  to  the  amount  of  50,000  francs 
($10,000)  were  sought;  the  other  on  Dr.  Sheppard  for  his 
article  published  in  the  "Kasai  Herald,"  claiming  30,000 
francs  ($6,000)  damages.  Rut  for  some  unknown  reason 
the  two  summons  were  combined,  charging  Dr.  Morrison, 


loo  Twenty  Years  in  Africa 

as  responsible  editor  of  the  "Kasai  Herald,"  and  Sheppard, 
as  the  author  of  the  article,  fixing  the  amount  of  damages 
asked  by  the  Company  at  80,000  francs.  No  mention  was 
made  of  the  charges  of  Dr.  Morrison  in  the  correspondence 
with  the  director.  On  account  of  this  error  the  attorney 
for  the  prosecution  stated  that  the  action  against  Dr.  Mor- 
rison would  be  withdrawn  for  the  present,  except,  of  course, 
his  responsibility  as  editor,  and  the  Company  would  reserve 
the  right  to  sue  him  at  a  later  date.  This  may  or  may  not 
have  been  an  intentional  error,  but  at  any  rate  it  undoubt- 
edly worked  out  to  the  advantage  of  the  Company. 

The  trial  then  evolved  itself  into  a  case  against  the  author 
and  the  editor  of  the  offending  article,  the  amount  of  dam- 
ages sought  being  30,000  francs. 

These  preliminaries  having  been  disposed  of,  the  prose- 
cuting attorney,  Mr.  Vandermeeren,  took  up  the  various 
charges  and  spoke  at  great  length.  He  declared  that  the 
term  "chartered  company,"  as  used  in  the  article,  could 
only  refer  to  the  Kasai  Company;  that  the  article  was 
defamatory  and  damaging;  that  it  had  been  written  to 
create  a  wrong  impression  and  had  already  resulted  in 
considerable  damage  to  the  Company  and  that  the  defend- 
ants should  be  compelled  to  pay  the  loss  the  Company  had 
sustained.  He  further  declared  that  it  was  a  part  of  the 
political  campaign  against  the  Belgian  Government  and  the 
Roman  Catholic  missionaries  in  the  Congo.  He  denied  the 
fact  that  the  Company  ever  employed  "armed  sentries"  and 
affirmed  that  "no  pressure  was  ever  brought  to  bear  on  the 
natives  in  the  production  of  rubber." 

He  then  qualified  this  astounding  statement  by  saying 
that  "it  was  against  the  orders  of  the  Company,  but  per- 
haps a  few  of  their  buyers  might  possess  guns."  He  was 
compelled  to  admit  this  fact  because  Mr.  Vandervelde  had 


William  McCutchan  Morrison  ioi 

previously  informed  him  that  he  had  at  Leopoldville  twenty 
witnesses  from  eleven  different  villages  to  prove  the  state- 
ment and  that  some  of  these  very  men  were,  until  recently, 
armed  sentries  in  the  employment  of  the  Company. 

Mr.  Vandermeeren  then  tried  to  prove  that  conditions  in 
the  Kasai  District  had  not  changed  for  the  worse  since 
the  entrance  of  the  Kasai  Company.  In  order  to  prove  this, 
he  cited  letters  which  the  Company  had  received  from  dif- 
ferent members  of  the  Mission  in  which  the  methods  of 
the  Company's  agents  were  praised.  He  failed  to  state, 
however,  that  these  letters  were  four  or  five  years  old  and 
that  it  was  during  this  time  that  the  change  for  the  worse 
had  taken  place.  He  even  dared  to  cast  reflections  on  the 
name  of  Mrs.  Morrison  by  reading  notes  that  she  had  writ- 
ten to  different  agents  of  the  Company,  inviting  them  to 
dine  or  thanking  them  for  courtesies  she  had  received  from 
them. 

He  read  from  the  Company's  instructions  in  regard  to 
the  prices  that  were  to  be  paid  for  rubber.  Here  Mr. 
Vandervelde  challenged  him  to  produce  any  evidence  to 
prove  that  those  instructions  had  been  carried  out,  which, 
of  course,  he  could  not  do. 

He  launched  out  into  a  wholesale  criticism  of  Consul 
Thesinger's  report,  claiming  that  he  had  visited  the  country 
at  the  request  of  the  missionaries;  that  Sheppard  had  only 
taken  him  through  the  worst  part  of  the  country  and  that 
his  visit  was  too  brief  to  ascertain  the  true  conditions.  He 
further  alleged  that  this  was  but  a  part  of  the  British  cam- 
paign against  the  Congo  and  questioned  the  veracity  of  all 
the  statements  contained  in  the  report. 

He  asked  why  the  other  missionaries  in  the  Congo,  es- 
pecially the  Roman  Catholics,  had  not  seen  any  of  the 
abuses  complained  of  by  the  Protestant  missionaries.    Here 


I02  Twenty  Years  in  Africa 

Mr.  Vandervelde  again  interrupted  him  by  stating  that  it 
was  to  the  honor  of  the  Protestant  missionaries  that  they 
had  cried  out  against  these  abuses  and  to  the  injury  of  the 
Roman  Cathohcs  who  had  remained  silent. 

Mr.  Vandervelde  then  opened  the  case  for  the  defense. 
He  stated  that  he  had  been  severely  criticised  for  undertak- 
ing the  defense  of  foreigners  in  the  Congo  against  a  Belgian 
Company,  but  he  replied  that  he  had  come  in  the  interest 
of  the  Belgians  themselves  as  well  as  the  Protestant  mis- 
sionaries, to  fight  for  Belgium  against  the  abuses  that 
meant  the  ruin  of  the  Congo.  He  further  stated  that  he 
had  come  not  only  to  defend  the  missionaries,  but  to  plead 
for  the  native  people  who  were  being  deprived  of  all  their 
natural  rights. 

He  stated  that  he  regretted  very  much  that  he  could  not 
take  up  the  case  of  Dr.  Morrison  in  his  correspondence 
with  the  director,  as  it  would  have  offered  an  excellent 
opportunity  to  bring  to  light  the  abusive  system  of  the 
Kasai  Company. 

He  then  confirmed  in  conclusive  arguments,  supported 
by  many  documents  and  witnesses,  the  statements  made  by 
Dr.  Sheppard  in  the  article  and  the  charges  brought  by 
Dr.  Morrison.  He  justified  Dr.  Morrison's  opinion  of 
Congo  justice  and  stated  that  if  he  were  not  a  lawyer  he, 
too,  would  have  been  doubtful  of  receiving  fair  treatment, 
in  view  of  the  fact  that  fifty  per  cent  of  the  stock  in  the 
Company  was  owned  by  the  Belgian  Government  and  its 
principal  officers  were  appointed  by  the  Government,  as 
was  the  judge  before  whom  the  case  was  being  tried. 

He  produced  a  copy  of  the  Company's  instructions  to  its 
agents,  stating  that  the  price  was  to  be  regulated  by  com- 
petition. He  proved  that,  since  there  was  no  competition 
in  the   Kasai  District,  that  prices   as  low   as   25   centimes 


William  McCutchan  Morrison  103 

per  kilo  (or  less  than  two  cents  per  pound)  was  the  maxi- 
mum to  be  allowed.  He  proved  that  the  Company  was  a 
monopoly  and  that  the  price  had  been  reduced  as  soon  as 
they  began  operations.  He  also  produced  a  circular  letter 
from  the  director  to  the  agents,  pointing  out  to  them  the 
habitual  laziness  of  the  natives  and  informing  them  that 
force  must  be  used  to  induce  them  to  work. 

He  took  up  the  question  of  armed  sentries  used  in  the 
collection  of  rubber  by  force  and  asked  for  permission  to 
present  the  native  witnesses,  who  were  present  to  substan- 
tiate the  charge.  He  further  reminded  the  Court  that  fifty 
legal  actions  were  at  that  time  pending  against  the  agents 
of  the  Company  for  ill-treatment  of  the  natives. 

He  took  up  the  Consul's  report  and  showed  that  it  was 
this  report,  and  not  Dr.  Shcppard's  article,  that  had  caused 
the  decline  in  the  Company's  stock.  He  further  stated  that 
the  prosecution  must  accept  the  report  as  true  or  else  judge 
the  Consul  as  a  man  who  was  imposing  on  his  country. 

He  sternly  rebuked  the  prosecuting  attorney  for  his  dis- 
courteous reference  to  Mrs.  Morrison  and  told  him  that  no 
gentleman  would  have  used  innocent  correspondence  in 
such  a  manner. 

He  declared,  in  conclusion,  that  the  two  main  points  for 
the  judge  to  decide  were  whether  there  was  malicious  intent 
in  writing  the  article,  and  the  right  to  prove  the  statements 
contained  in  it. 

He  openly  challenged  the  prosecution  to  allow  him  to 
present  the  native  witnesses  and  prove  these  statements. 
The  prosecution  refused  to  give  its  consent.  "In  that  case," 
replied  Mr.  Vandervelde,  "you  arc  morally  condemned, 
whatever  the  decision  of  the  court  may  be." 

Both  sides  having  presented  their  arguments,  the  case 
was  referred  to  the  Tribunal  for  their  decision.     (There  is 


104  Twenty  Years  in  Africa 

no  trial  by  jury  in  Belgian  jurisprudence,  but  only  before 
a  Tribunal  who  review  the  evidence  in  secret  and  render 
their  decision.) 

In  the  face  of  the  evidence  presented,  it  was  apparent  to 
any  fair-minded  man  that  only  one  just  decision  could  be 
given.  The  Tribunal  announced  its  verdict,  which  was  a 
masterpiece  of  clearness  and  common  sense,  to  the  effect 
that  the  "case  against  Dr.  Morrison  is  ruled  out  of  court 
and  that  the  Kasai  Company  is  not  justified  in  her  pro- 
ceedings against  Dr.  Sheppard  and  the  charges  against  him 
are  dismissed.  And  furthermore,  the  Kasai  Company  is 
condemned  to  pay  the  expenses  and  costs  of  proceedings 
to  the  amount  of  forty-two  francs." 

The  Kasai  Company,  in  its  usual  blustering  manner,  had 
threatened  to  appeal  the  case  should  the  court  render  a 
verdict  unfavorable  to  them  and  that  they  would  immedi- 
ately continue  the  proceedings  against  Dr.  Morrison. 

Mr.  Vandervelde  then  very  generously  offered  his  serv- 
ices in  the  event  of  an  appeal  and  especially  in  case  of 
further  action  against  Dr.  Morrison. 

But  after  the  trial  was  concluded  the  directors  of  the 
Company  were  thoroughly  chagrined  and  convinced  that 
they  had  no  just  grounds  on  which  to  base  an  appeal  in  the 
case  against  Dr.  Sheppard.  They  were  likewise  persuaded 
that  any  further  publicity  as  to  their  methods,  which  would 
most  certainly  be  brought  out  in  a  case  against  Dr.  Mor- 
rison, would  reflect  nothing  to  their  credit  and  that  silence 
was  the  best  policy  for  them. 

Then,  too,  the  government  at  Washington  had  taken  a  far 
more  active  interest  in  the  case  than  the  directors  of  the 
Company  had  anticipated,  and  they  had  no  desire  to  strain 
matters  any  further. 

Not  only  so,  but  the  coming  of  so  eminent  a  man  as  Mr. 


William  McCutchan  Morrison  105 

Vandervelde  had  attracted  the  attention  of  all  Europe  and 
for  the  time  being  all  eyes  had  been  centered  on  the  court 
room  at  Leopoldville.  The  Company  was  forced  to  the  con- 
clusion that  they  had  attempted  too  much  and  were  glad 
to  back  out  as  gracefully  as  possible. 


CHAPTER  XI 

1£rl|orH  from  tt|f  ©rial 

The  Triumph  of  Right  over  Might — Rejoicing  at  the  Mission — Dr. 
Morrison's  Letter  of  Appreciation — The  Executive  Committee 
Thanks  Mr.  Vandervelde — Results  of  the  Trial. 

The  announcement  of  the  court,  in  acquitting  our  mis- 
sionaries, was  received  throughout  the  civiHzed  world  with 
general  satisfaction.  It  was  the  triumph  of  the  weak  over 
the  strong  and  of  liberty  over  oppression.  Their  vindica- 
tion under  such  adverse  circumstances,  when  all  the  odds 
seemed  to  be  against  them,  calls  to  mind  the  words  of 
the  poet : 

"Truth   forever  on  the  scaffold, 
Wrong  forever  on  the  throne : 
Yet  that  scaffold  sways  the  future. 
And 'behind  the  dim  unknown 
Standeth  God  within  the  shadow 
Keeping  watch  above   His  own." 

It  demonstrated  the  fact  that  the  battle  is  not  always  to 
the  strong,  nor  the  race  always  to  the  swift.  It  w^as  the 
Kasai  Company  that  was  on  trial  before  the  Judge  of  the 
whole  earth,  and  He  was  the  One  who  pronounced  the 
verdict.  The  Kasai  Company  would  have  been  condemned 
before  the  eyes  of  all  just  men,  whatever  decision  the  Court 
might  have  rendered. 

The  news  of  the  acquittal  of  the  missionaries  was  re- 
ceived at  Luebo  and  Ibanchc  with  the  greatest  enthusiasm. 
A  holiday  was  declared  and  special  services  of  thanksgiving 
to  God  were  held  in  the  local  churches.  These  natives 
knew  enough  about  Congo  justice  at  that  time  to  recognize 
the  fact  that  only  God  himself  could  so  turn  the  hearts  of 


io8  Twenty  Years  in  Africa 

men  as  to  make  them  subservient  to  His  will.  It  was  a 
great  practical  demonstration  to  the  native  Christians,  so 
recently  called  out  of  darkness  into  His  marvelous  light, 
that  God  hears  and  answers  the  prayers  of  His  people. 
Every  day  that  Drs.  Morrison  and  Sheppard  were  absent 
at  the  trial,  they  had  been  remembered  before  the  throne 
of  grace  at  the  sunrise  prayer  meetings,  as  well  as  in  the 
private  devotions  of  the  people.  Days  of  fasting  had  also 
been  observed;  their  deliverance  had  largely  been  brought 
about  by  prayer. 

When  Drs.  Morrison  and  Sheppard  returned  to  the  Mis- 
sion a  few  weeks  after  the  trial,  perhaps  the  largest  crowd 
ever  assembled  at  Luebo  was  on  the  beach  that  day  to  wel- 
come them.  They  received  this  generous,  whole-hearted 
greeting  with  the  greatest  satisfaction  and  yet  in  a  deep 
spirit  of  humility. 

Dr.  Morrison,  in  writing  to  the  church  papers  about  the 
trial,  pays  the  following  eloquent  tribute  to  Mr.  Vander- 
velde :  "We  were  most  fortunate  in  having  as  our  advocate 
the  Hon.  Emil  Vandervelde,  the  distinguished  Belgian 
statesman,  who,  during  all  these  years,  has  so  nobly  fought, 
even  in  Belgium,  for  the  cause  of  this  oppressed  land.  His 
speech  in  our  defense  was  a  masterpiece  of  eloquence,  in- 
vincible logic,  burning  sarcasm  and  stinging  rebuke  of  the 
whole  iniquitous  system  of  forced  labor,  and  a  pathetic 
appeal  that  justice  be  done  in  this  case,  not  only  for  the 
sake  of  the  missionaries  who  dared  to  speak  in  defense  of 
this  oppressed  land,  but  especially  in  behalf  of  the  native 
people  for  whose  help  he  had  primarily  come.  All  honor 
is  due  Mr.  Vandervelde,  who,  at  such  a  great  sacrifice,  has 
come  out  for  us  and  the  native  people  at  this  time.  We 
hope  that  some  definite  action  will  be  taken  by  all  interested 
in  this  cause  to  show  him  our  appreciation  for  all  he  has 


William  McCutchan  Morrison  109 

done.  It  is  true  that  he  refused  to  accept  any  fee;  he 
wishes  it  to  be  understood  that  he  has  come  out  purely  for 
the  natives  and  for  the  sake  of  right. 

"We  wish  also  to  thank  our  fellow  missionaries  of  other 
Protestant  Societies  in  England  and  America  and  Sweden, 
who  are  laboring  in  the  Congo,  for  all  their  interest  and 
sympathy  at  this  time.  At  the  recent  Conference  of  the 
Missionaries  of  all  Societies  working  here,  a  special  session 
of  prayer  was  held  for  us  and  for  the  oppressed  natives  in 
this  land.  They  attended  the  court  in  a  body  and  in  every 
way  possible  have  held  up  our  hands. 

"We  wish  to  thank  our  government  at  Washington  for 
so  closely  following  the  case  to  see  that  we  got  justice. 
The  American  Consul-General  and  his  Vice-Consul  were 
here  and  also  the  English  Consul,  all  of  whom  have  taken 
a  vital,  personal  interest  in  the  case." 

The  Executive  Committee  of  Foreign  Missions,  through 
Dr.  Chester  addressed  the  following  letter  to  Mr.  Vander- 
velde  upon  the  receipt  of  the  verdict:  "We  have  just  re- 
ceived letters  telling  us  of  the  splendid  defense  of  our 
accused  missionaries  which  you  made  before  the  court  at 
Leopoldville,  and  also  of  your  telling  appeal  for  the  more 
just  and  humane  treatment  of  the  natives  in  the  Congo 
State  at  the  hands  of  the  concessionary  companies  and  of 
the  State  authorities,  by  whom  these  companies  are  up- 
held. 

"I  also  take  pleasure  in  stating  to  you  that  our  Depart- 
ment of  State  at  Washington  has  forwarded  to  us  the  re- 
port of  the  American  Consul  General,  Mr.  Handley,  of  the 
proceedings  of  the  trial,  in  which  he  speaks  in  the  very 
highest  terms  of  your  management  of  the  case. 

"The  Executive  Committee  of  Foreign  Missions,  of 
which  I  am  secretary,  directs  me  to  convey  to  you  this 


no  Twenty  Years  in  Africa 

expression  of  the  high  appreciation  of  your  services  in  our 
behalf  in  connection  with  this  matter.  We  gratefully  rec- 
ognize the  fact  that  the  financial  remuneration  whi-'li  we 
have  made  you  was  merely  nominal  and  could  not  have 
even  approximately  reimbursed  you  for  the  labor  and  loss 
of  time  which  were  involved  in  your  visit  to  the  Congo. 
We,  therefore,  accept  what  you  have  done  as  a  work  and 
labor  of  love  on  your  part,  for  which  your  reward  will  be 
that  which  comes  to  all  men,  in  the  course  of  Providence, 
who  render  unselfish  service  to  their  fellow  men." 

The  trial  of  Drs.  Morrison  and  Sheppard  seemed  indeed 
harsh  and  bitter,  and,  no  doubt,  many  of  God's  people  at 
that  time  wondered  why  He  permitted  His  servants  to  be 
so  unjustly  treated  by  godless  men.  But  now  we  can  look 
back  and  see  that  God,  as  He  often  does,  permitted  these 
men  to  overstep  their  bounds  in  order  that  He  might  over- 
rule their  wicked  actions  and  thus  make  the  wrath  of  man 
to  praise  Him.  The  Pharoah  of  the  oppression  was  raised 
up  in  Egypt  in  order  that  God's  power  might  be  declared 
among  the  nations  of  the  earth.  It  was  the  persecution  that 
arose  after  the  death  of  Stephen  that  scattered  the  disciples 
throughout  the  then  known  world  and  enabled  the  church 
to  fulfill,  in  a  very  large  measure,  the  Lord's  last  command 
when  He  said,  "Go  ye  into  all  the  world  and  preach  the 
gospel  to  every  creature."  The  Apostle  Paul  was  bound  in ' 
prison,  but  the  Word  of  God  was  not  bound,  the  name  of 
Christ  being  made  known  throughout  the  whole  Praetorian 
Guard,  and  many  of  the  younger  disciples  became  more 
abundantly  bold  to  speak  the  Word  of  God  without  fear. 
Luther  was  imprisoned  because  he  dared  to  defy  the  ec- 
clesiastical authorities  of  his  day,  but  from  that  prison  came 
forth  the  Word  of  God  in  the  language  of  the  common 
people  and  the  tide  of  Reformation  swept  over  the  world. 


William  McCutciian  Morrison  hi 

Out  of  this  trial  at  Leopoldville  there  have  come  reforms, 
which,  though  far  from  complete,  have  outreached  the  san- 
guine hopes  of  the  most  optimistic  and  farsighted  seer 
among  all  the  servants  of  God  in  the  Congo  at  that  time. 
It  was  a  great  moral  victory  and  did  more  to  convince  the 
civilized  world  of  the  true  condition  in  the  Congo  than  all 
the  newspaper  articles  that  had  ever  been  written. 

Sir  Arthur  Conan  Doyle  paid  tribute  to  Dr.  Morrison 
when  he  said,  in  substance,  that  Dr.  Morrison,  on  trial  at 
Leopoldville,  stood  as  a  nobler  and  more  perfect  represen- 
tation of  liberty  than  the  statue  by  Bartholdi  in  the  harbor 
of  New  York  City. 


CHAPTER  XII 

Jfourtiry  to  tl|p  laluba — itatli  of  Mv&.  Matx'xson 

Great  Success  of  the  Mission — Necessity  for  Expansion — Dr.  and 
Mrs.  Morrison  on  Evangelistic  Tour — Her  Work  Along  the  Waj' 
— In  the  Heart  of  the  Baluba  Country — Return  to  Luebo — Last 
Illness  of  Mrs.  Morrison — Her  Death  and  Its  Effect  on  the 
Native  People — Dr.  Morrison's  Courageous  Spirit  under  Trial — 
The  Challenge  of  Mrs.  Morrison's  Death  to  the  Home  Church. 

Immediately  upon  the  return  of  Dr.  Morrison  from 
Leopoldville,  after  an  absence  of  many  months,  he  and 
Mrs.  Morrison  went  to  Ibanche  for  a  short  stay  in  order 
that  he  might  complete  the  paraphrasing  of  certain  portions 
of  the  Bible.  When  this  was  finished  they  returned  to 
Luebo  and  he  placed  the  manuscript  in  the  hands  of  the 
native  printers. 

We  have  already  indicated  that  the  prospects  for  the 
expansion  of  the  mission  work  seemed  to  lie  in  the  direction 
of  the  Baluba  country.  The  unparalleled  success  of  the 
Mission  during  the  last  few  years  was  due  to  the  fact  that 
many  people  were  coming  to  Luebo,  often  from  a  very  great 
distance,  seeking  the  gospel.  Delegation  after  delegation 
were  coming  in,  practically  every  day,  from  regions  of 
which  the  missionaries  had  never  heard,  asking  for  teachers 
and  evangelists.  Practically  every  Christian  became  a  mes- 
senger of  the  Cross,  and  wherever  he  went  he  told  the  won- 
derful gospel  story  which  he  had  learned  from  the  mis- 
sionaries at  Luebo. 

Dr.  Morrison  had  long  since  realized  that  this  vast, 
untouched  region  beyond  could  not  be  properly  reached 
from  Luebo,  with  our  slow  methods  of  travel.  Distance 
limited  the  missionary's  efforts   and  entailed  unnecessary 


114  Twenty  Years  in  Africa 

hardship.  The  only  wise  poHcy  to  adopt  was  to  estabHsh 
a  mission  station  nearer  the  center  of  this  great  population. 

The  progress  of  the  Mission  has  always  been  hindered 
by  two  very  important  factors:  the  refusal  of  the  State  to 
grant  additional  land  on  which  to  establish  stations,  and 
the  failure  of  the  church  at  home  to  provide  the  necessary 
recruits  with  whom  to  man  the  field.  But  Dr.  Morrison 
was  convinced  that  these  two  obstacles  could  and  must  be 
overcome,  for,  if  the  Mission  could  not  grow,  it  must  soon 
die. 

The  members  of  the  Mission  realized  that  Dr.  Morrison 
needed  a  change  to  relieve  him  from  the  great  strain  to 
which  he  had  been  subjected  during  the  last  year.  It  was 
unanimously  decided  to  send  him  on  a  journey  to  the  heart 
of  the  Baluba  country  to  select  sites  for  at  least  two  new 
stations.  Mrs.  Morrison  knew  that  such  a  long  journey  as 
this,  mostly  on  foot,  would  be  attended  with  many  hard- 
ships and  some  risks,  especially  for  a  woman,  but  she  in- 
sisted on  accompanying  her  husband.  She  never  considered 
herself  when  she  thought  of  service  to  others. 

They  left  Luebo  early  in  August,  1910,  on  their  way  to 
Luluaburg,  making  the  journey  by  easy  stages.  Dr.  Mor- 
rison never  believed  in  hurrying  through  a  village  and  took 
ample  time  to  examine  those  who  were  applying  for  church 
membership,  to  encourage  the  new  converts  in  their  Chris- 
tian lives  and  to  advise  with  the  local  chiefs  for  the  making 
of  laws  that  would  improve  the  moral  atmosphere  of  the 
communities. 

Mrs.  Morrison  was  the  first  white  woman  to  travel  over 
much  of  this  country,  and  naturally  she  was  the  center  of 
attraction.  Her  chief  charm  to  the  natives  was  her  long 
suit  of  hair;  they  had  never  seen  anything  like  it  before. 
She  was  constantly  called  upon  to  place  it  on  exhibition 


William  McCutchan  Morrison 


115 


and  explain  Just  what  it  was.  She  was  surrounded  from 
early  morning  till  late  at  night  by  a  great  throng  of  curi- 
osity-filled people,  who  scarcely  allowed  her  a  moment's 
rest.     She  was  too  anxious  to  gain  their  friendship  to  think 


MRS.    MORRISON 

of  herself  and  never  turned  anyone  away  without   trying 
to  please  them. 

She  devoted  a  good  part  of  her  time  to  dressing  sores 
and  ministering  to  the  ills  of  the  people.  But  her  time  was 
by  no  means  consumed  in  amusing  the  people  and  in  min- 
istering to  their  physical  needs.  She  was  a  true  evangelistic 
missionary  and  never  let  an  opportunity  pass  without  speak- 
ing to  them  about  their  spiritual  welfare.  She  spent  many 
hours  in  every  village  talking  to  the  women  and  advising 


ii6  Twenty  Years  IN  Africa 

them  about  the  problems  of  their  christian  Hves.  The 
beauty  and  sincerity  of  her  sweet  christian  character  made 
an  indelible  impression  on  those  benighted  women.  They 
had  never  met  anyone  who  took  such  a  personal  interest  in 
their  welfare  and  their  darkened  hearts  were  profoundly 
touched.  The  "perfume  of  her  life"  yet  lingers  along  the 
way  she  passed,  and  when  we  pass  along  that  same  way 
to-day  the  women  still  speak  of  "Mama  Mutoto"  in  the 
most  affectionate  terms. 

The  manner  in  which  the  people  received  the  gospel  was 
an  inspiration  to  her.  In  writing  to  a  friend  she  says :  "I 
would  like  to  be  a  converted  heathen  myself.  To  know 
that  some  one  loved  them  enough  to  die  for  them  is  so 
strange  and  new  to  them.  When  they  do  believe,  their  faith 
is  so  simple,  childlike  and  joyous.  They  are  not  worried 
with  any  'new  theology'  either.  To  say  Tt  is  God's  Word' 
is  enough.    That  ends  all  doubt." 

Luluaburg  is  most  strategically  located  for  a  mission  site. 
It  lies  on  the  main  highway  about  midway  between  Luebo 
and  Lusambo,  and  on  one  of  the  principal  highways  leading 
into  the  Baluba  country  to  the  south  and  east.  The  Mis- 
sion, recognizing  this  fact,  had  applied  for  a  concession 
but  were  refused  on  the  ground  that  the  Roman  Catholics 
were  already  settled  there.  The  Mission  was  not  to  be 
outwitted  by  such  flimsy  excuses.  Dr.  Morrison  went  a 
little  further  to  the  northeast  and  selected  a  place  as  second 
choice.  After  several  years  of  negotiation  a  site  in  this 
region  was  finally  granted  and  named  Mutoto  in  honor 
of  Mrs,  Morrison. 

They  continued  their  journey  to  the  Baluba  coui.tr\'^, 
passing  through  great  villages  with  teeming  populations. 
Everywhere  along  the  route  they  were  received  with  the 
greatest  enthusiasm  and  were  overwhelmed  with  requests 


William  McCutchan  Morrison  117 

for  evangelists  and  teachers.  After  a  few  weeks  spent  in 
this  region  and  having  seen  something  of  the  unparalleled 
opportunity  that  lay  before  him,  Dr.  Morrison  was  con- 
vinced that  the  Mission  should  have  at  least  three  new  sta- 
tions there  if  we  were  to  meet  the  responsibility  assumed 
by  the  General  Assembly  in  1907. 

They  turned  back  from  the  great  village  of  Mutomba 
Kachi,  at  that  time  the  most  powerful  and  influential  of  all 
the  Baluba  chiefs,  and  continued  their  journey  in  the  direc- 
tion of  Lusambo.  The  strategic  importance  of  Lusambo, 
with  its  thousands  of  people,  appealed  to  Dr.  Morrison  in 
a  peculiar  manner,  and  he  determined  to  apply  for  a  con- 
cession there  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  it  was  a  Roman 
Catholic  stronghold.  This  petition  was  not  granted,  how- 
ever, until  several  years  after  the  Roman  Catholics  had 
established  themselves  at  Luebo,  within  sight  of  our  own 
station. 

Their  long  journey,  covering  between  five  and  six  hun- 
dred miles,  was  completed  after  an  absence  of  nearly  three 
months. 

During  the  last  two  we^ks  of  the  journey  Mrs.  Morrison 
was  far  from  well,  having  suffered  several  attacks  of  fever. 
She  went  to  bed  as  soon  as  she  reached  home,  although  at 
first  there  was  nothing  to  indicate  that  her  condition  was 
serious.  Finally  she  grew  worse.  Dr.  Coppedge,  who  at- 
tended her  in  this  her  last  illness,  describes  her  symptoms 
as  follows :  "An  attack  of  bilious  intermittent  fever,  lasting 
about  three  weeks,  during  which  time  her  life  was  despaired 
of,  seemed  about  to  terminate  favorably.  Large  doses  of 
quinine  had  been  given  hypodermically  for  ten  days  and  the 
fever  had  almost  disappeared,  while  other  distressing  symp- 
toms had  abated.  On  November  the  21st,  1910,  she  was 
able,  for  the  first  time,  to  sit  up  in  a  half  reclining  position 


ii8  Twenty  Years  in  Africa 

and  had  taken  some  nourishment.  She  had  lain  down  again 
in  fine  spirits,  when  one  of  the  ladies  attending  her  left  the 
room  to  get  some  milk  for  her.  In  less  than  a  moment  she 
returned  and  found  her  patient  without  a  sign  of  life.  The 
most  vigorous  attempts  to  revive  her  produced  no  results, 
and  we  were  soon  forced  to  realize  that  our  dear  frierd 
had  departed  this  life." 

Her  death,  occurring  as  it  did  just  at  the  moment  when 
she  seemed  to  be  on  the  road  to  recovery,  came  like  a  thun- 
derbolt to  the  little  company  of  missionaries  at  Luebo  and 
Ibanche.  But  it  came  as  a  greater  shock  to  the  native  peo- 
ple. Death  is  to  them  the  greatest  of  all  mysteries.  More- 
over, they  could  not  understand  why  so  lovely  a  character 
should  be  taken  from  them.  Many  of  the  unbelieving 
natives,  who  had  heard  the  missionaries  speak  of  "eternal 
life,"  now  ignorantly  scoffed.  If  this  gospel,  which  he 
proclaimed,  could  not  save  the  missionary  from  the  dread 
foe  of  death,  what  hope  did  it  hold  out  to  them ! 

It  is  the  native  custom  to  mourn  for  their  dead  with 
great  lamentations  and  wailings,  but  Dr.  Morrison  would 
permit  no  such  demonstration  as  this.  A  vivid  picture  of 
what  this  "muadi"  or  wailing  is  like  may  be  obtained  by 
a  visit  to  the  negroes  in  distress  on  any  of  the  plantations 
of  the  old  South.  The  primitive  savage  still  speaks  through 
them ;  in  their  souls  runs  the  same  wild  wierd  wail,  the 
same  haunting  mourning  of  the  native  of  the  jungle.  Take 
grief  away  from  this  familiar  scene  (for  there  is  little 
love,  as  we  understand  it,  among  the  natives)  and  add  to 
it  the  unspeakable  heathen  rites  and  customs,  and  you  h.'vve 
the  most  heart-breaking  sight  of  missionary  experience. 
Having  witnessed  such  a  scene  as  this,  we  can  understand 
more  clearly  what  the  apostle  means  when  he  speaks  of 
those  "who  through   fear  of  death  were  all  their  lifetime 


William  McCutciian  Morrison  119 

subject  to  bondage."  Death  to  them  is  an  ogre,  a  super- 
human evil  spirit  who  has  overcome  the  human.  They 
must  seek  to  drive  him  away  by  every  device  of  noise  and 
incantation. 

It  was  here  that  the  true  greatness  of  Dr.  Morrison  and 
his  strong  faith  in  the  promises  of  God  manifested  itself. 
Instead  of  thinking  of  his  own  grief  and  remaining  in  soli- 
tude to  mourn,  we  find  him  moving  in  and  out  among  the 
stricken  native  people,  explaining  to  them  the  mystery  of 
death. 

Mr.  Motte  Martin,  in  writing  of  him  at  this  time,  says : 
"The  moment  after  the  gentle  spirit  of  his  wife  had  so 
suddenly  departed,  he  went  out  to  comfort  the  weeping 
native  boys,  whom  she  had  gathered  to  train,  telling  them 
not  to  weep,  because  Mama  Mutoto  was  perfectly  happy 
now  as  the  Father  had  taken  her  to  His  home  above.  It 
was  beautiful  to  see  him  passing  through  the  assembled 
thousands  (who  had  rapidly  gathered  at  the  news  of  her 
death)  with  perfect  calm  and  serenity,  comforting  all  in 
his  path.  And  as  I  led  him  into  a  secluded  room  in  my 
home,  he  was  already  weaving  the  tangled  ends  of  events 
into  the  providence  and  plan  of  the  Father  and  saying,  'Thy 
will,  not  mine,  be  done.'  And,  indeed,  he  has  led  us  all 
to  see  that  God.  by  her  death,  has  instructed  the  natives 
in  a  way  and  to  a  degree  that,  humanly  speaking,  He  could 
not,  perhaps,  have  done  through  her  in  years  of  living 
service." 

Thus  Dr.  Morrison,  by  his  heroic  example,  became  a  sign 
to  these  people  just  as  the  prophet  Ezekiel  did  to  the  house 
of  Israel  when  God  took  away  from  him  the  desire  of  his 
eyes  with  a  stroke  and  forbade  him  to  weep  or  mourn.  The 
prophet  spoke  to  the  people  in  the  morning  and  at  even  his 
wife  died;  and  he  did  in  the  morning  as  he  was  <:ommanded. 


I20  Twenty  Years  in  Africa 

He  was  compelled  to  teach  them  a  great  lesson  by  his  own 
sad  experience. 

Dr.  Morrison  attended  the  early  morning  prayer  meeting 
the  day  after  the  death  of  his  wife  and  bore  himself  with 
the  greatest  spirit  of  courage  and  fortitude. 

We  read  in  the  history  of  Israel,  when  the  people  were  in 
dire  need,  occasioned  by  a  great  famine,  that  two  women 
came  to  the  king  with  a  very  distressing  case  to  settle. 
When  the  king  had  heard  the  almost  heartless  indictment 
from  the  lips  of  a  mother  he  rent  his  clothes  in  anguish, 
and  as  he  walked  upon  the  wall  the  people  beheld  that  he 
had  "sackcloth  within  upon  his  flesh."  The  king  him- 
self was  already  bowed  down  with  grief  at  the  desperate 
condition  of  his  people,  his  heart  was  filled  with  inexpres- 
sible anguish,  and  yet  by  virtue  of  his  position  he  must 
wear  his  sackcloth  underneath  his  royal  garments.  As  a 
king  and  leader  among  the  people  he  could  not  give  way  to 
his  feelings,  he  must  maintain  his  courage  and  outward 
calm  at  all  costs  in  order  to  keep  up  the  courage  of  his 
people.  Although  he  was  a  king,  yet  he  was  a  sufferer; 
a  leader  of  the  people,  and  one  who  shared  their  burdens. 

Dr.  Morrison,  by  virtue  of  his  high  position  among  these 
people,  in  this,  the  greatest  of  all  sorrows,  wore  his  sack- 
cloth within ;  he  maintained  his  outward  calm  and  never 
gave  way  to  his  grief  in  the  presence  of  the  people. 

At  this  time  he  translated  the  words  of  that  beautiful 
hymn : 

"Asleep  in  Jesus  !  blessed  sleep. 
From  which  none  ever  wakes  to  weep. 
A  calm  and  undisturbed  repose 
Unbroken  by  the  last  of  foes." 

The  funeral  was  conducted  from  the  church  on  Novem- 


William  McCutciian  Morrison  121 

ber  22nd  by  Rev.  Motte  Martin.  A  great  throng  was  assem- 
bled underneath  the  church  shed,  and  his  message  was  filled 
with  hope  and  comfort  to  all  who  were  present. 

The  Covenanter  boys  and  the  girls  from  the  Pantops 
Home  brought  flowers,  and  a  place  was  given  to  one  of  the 
native  evangelists  who  spoke  in  behalf  of  the  Kasai  people, 
closing  his  remarks  with  a  touching  appreciation  of  God's 
gifts  to  them  in  the  person  of  Mama  Mutoto,  saying  as  he 
closed,  "She  died  for  us." 

Her  class  of  girls  then  sang  the  last  hymn  she  had  taught 
them,  "Lead  Kindly  Light." 

Her   earthly   remains   were   laid   to   rest  in   the   Mission 
compound  at  Luebo,   where  she  had  given   four  years  of 
faithful  and  devoted  service  in  behalf  of  the  people  she  had 
learned  to  love  so  well. 

Her  death,  indeed,  came  as  a  challenge  to  the  church  at 
home  to  send  out  the  long  needed  recruits.  Dr.  Coppedge, 
in  writing  to  the  church  papers  at  this  time,  says :  "Mrs. 
Morrison  had  been  repeatedly  urged  by  many  members  of 
the  Mission,  including  myself,  to  take  her  furlough;  but 
in  view  of  the  failure  of  reenforcements  to  arrive,  she 
thought  it  her  duty  to  remain,  fully  cognizant  of  the  risk 
she  was  running.  Medical  opinion  in  the  Congo  is  unani- 
mously in  favor  of  a  change  of  climate  at  least  every  three 
years  for  all  persons  of  Caucasian  blood.  The  failure  of 
the  people  at  home  to  understand  the  necessity  for  this 
change  may  yet  be  responsible  for  other  deaths.  Perhaps, 
this  death  is  necessary  to  arouse  the  church  to  a  sense  of 
its  duty  to  the  thousands  who  are  begging  for  the  gospel, 
as  well  as  to  a  sense  of  the  obligation  of  every  church  to 
take  proper  care  of  its  missionaries." 

In  the  kingdom  of  God  time  is  not  necessarily  a  measure 
of  service.     The  Redeemer  of  the  world  spent  only  three 


122  ,    Twenty  Years  in  Africa 

years  in  the  active  ministry,  but  eternity  itself  can  not 
measure  the  fulness  of  that  service.  Mrs.  Morrison  was 
permitted  to  give  only  four  years  of  her  life  to  Africa,  but 
who  can  measure  the  far-reaching  results  of  her  labors? 
Dr.  James  O.  Reavis  says  of  her,  "I  would  rather  live  those 
four  years  in  Africa  that  she  lived  and  go  Home  with  the 
world's  love  and  praise  under  my  feet  and  heaven's  bene- 
diction on  my  brow,  than  to  live  fifty  years  as  I  am  spend- 
ing them." 

Her  pastor,  Dr.  Chisolm,  who  knew  her  well  and  loved 
her  as  a  father,  says  :  "In  the  last  analysis  there  are  only 
three  essential  elements  in  a  true  christian  character :  a 
clear  conception  of  the  most  worthy  mission  in  life,  a  de- 
liberate choice  of  the  same,  and  a  definite  consecration  of 
life  to  that  chosen  cause.  But  the  temperature  of  the  heart 
towards  Christ  is  the  most  important  factor  in  each  of  these 
elements,  because  it  determines  the  clearness  of  the  vision, 
the  fixedness  of  the  choice,  and  the  depth  of  the  devotion. 

"And  this  little  woman  of  God,  Mutoto,  possessed  as 
her  greatest  treasure  what  the  apostle  calls  'a  burning 
heart.'  This  was  the  secret  of  that  life  of  boundless  energy 
and  indomitable  will  which  she  poured  out  at  Luebo  in  the 
same  loving,  lavish  fashion  as  Mary  emptied  her  alabaster 
box  of  ointment  at  Bethany.  She  had  seen  the  Christ  with 
the  eyes  of  that  burning  heart.  She  knew  Him  whom  she 
had  believed,  and  without  reserve  she  yielded  herself  to  His 
control,  so  that  the  fulness  of  His  power  flowed  through 
her  life  unhindered." 


CHAPTER  XIII 

lli0itlo%  CHattarg  Slalatttia— i>frnnii  iFurlougli  ^omt 

Dr.  Morrison's  Sorrow  Intensified  by  Native  Customs — Continues 
His  Work  as  Usual — Short  Trip  to  Canary  Islands — Arrival  of 
Reenforcements— Revisits  the  Baluba  Country — Departure  for 
America — Publication  of  Bible  Paraphrases — Death  of  His 
Mother — Farewell  Service  in  His  Home  Church — Returns  to 
Luebo. 

After  the  death  of  Mrs.  Morrison  the  different  mission- 
aries at  Luebo  threw  their  homes  open  to  Dr.  Morrison  and 
urged  him  to  come  and  live  with  them.  But  out  of  consid- 
eration for  a  native  custom,  he  declined  their  cordial  invi- 
tations and  continued  to  live  in  his  own  home. 

When  anyone  dies  in  Africa  it  is  the  custom  for  the  fam- 
ily to  abandon  the  home  through  fear  of  evil  spirits.  Dr. 
Morrison  was  ever  careful  of  native  customs,  and  he  real- 
ized that  if  he  were  to  leave  his  home  at  this  time  the  na- 
tives would  interpret  the  move  in  the  hght  of  their  own 
traditions.  And  in  order  tliat  he  might  further  be  an 
example  to  them  he  remained  in  his  home  at  the  sacrifice 
of  his  own  personal  feelings.  This  act  on  his  part  perhaps 
can  not  be  fully  appreciated  by  those  who  do  not  have  a 
proper  conception  of  the  isolation  and  loneliness  of  the 
missionary  in  time  of  sorrow.  The  burden  of  the  sorrow- 
ing heart  is  made  lighter  when  the  sufferer  is  surrounded 
by  a  multitude  of  friends  who  can  understand  and  sympa- 
thize. But  among  the  natives  of  Africa  there  is  very  little 
affection  between  husband  and  wife,  and  therefore  there 
can  be  no  adequate  conception  of  the  sorrow  of  the  mis- 
sionary in  such  a  loss.  How  gladly  then  would  Dr.  Mor- 
rison have  sought  the  constant  companionship  of  the  few 
understanding  friends  with  whom  he  was  associated,  but 


124  Twenty  Years  in  Africa 

he  sacrificed  these  desires  in  order  that  he  might  be  an 
example  to  the  unbeHeving  natives. 

Upon  the  death  of  Mrs.  Morrison  the  Mission  again 
urged  Dr.  Morrison  to  take  his  furlough,  which  was  long 
overdue,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  no  reenforcements 
had  arrived.  He  refused  to  consider  himself  in  the  face  of 
the  unprecedented  needs  of  the  field  and  remained  at  his 
post.  Finally,  however,  he  yielded  to  their  urgent  requests 
and  agreed  to  take  a  few  months  rest  at  the  Canary  Islands. 
He  left  the  Mission  early  in  191 1,  but  soon  found  that  he 
was  more  isolated  there  than  at  Luebo.  He  found  no 
suitable  companions  among  those  who  were  absorbed  only 
in  the  pursuit  of  weath,  and  without  his  regular  work  to 
occupy  his  mind  he  was  more  lonely  than  he  had  been 
before.  After  a  very  few  weeks  he  again  sailed  for  the 
Congo  and  was  soon  back  at  his  regular  work. 

During  the  next  few  months  he  devoted  the  greater  part 
of  his  time  to  translation  work.  We  have  intimated  that 
his  first  work  along  this  line  was  the  translation  of  the 
International  Sunday  School  Lessons,  covering  a  period 
of  three  years,  and  the  paraphrasing  of  the  sections  be- 
tween these  lessons.  This  gave  the  natives  a  general  run- 
ning story  of  the  historical  part  of  the  Bible.  This  book 
created  a  demand  for  more  of  the  Scriptures,  especially 
for  use  in  the  school  work  and  in  the  training  of  young 
men  for  the  gospel  ministry.  At  the  unanimous  request 
of  his  colleagues,  Dr.  Morrison  undertook  the  paraphrasing 
of  the  New  Testament  Epistles.  This  was  important 
enough  to  demand  his  entire  time  and  attention,  but  the 
constant  pressure  of  the  work,  due  to  lack  of  missionaries, 
prevented  him  from  giving  his  undivided  time  to  any  one 
task.     These  outside  interruptions  were  so  numerous  and 


126  Twenty  Years  in  Africa 

frequent  that  he  was  unable  to  complete  the  task  before  the 
time  agreed  upon  for  his  furlough. 

Early  in  1912  six  new  missionaries  arrived  at  Luebo,  and 
with  them  came  the  news  from  the  great  Convention  in 
Chattanooga,  Tenn.,  that  a  dozen  or  more  recruits  would 
soon  follow.  When  this  first  installment  of  missionaries 
arrived  Dr.  Morrison  was  confined  to  his  bed  with  fever, 
and  yet  he  was  settling  "palavers"*  and  directing  a  large 
part  of  the  evangelistic  work. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  dry  season  Dr.  Morrison  was 
instructed  by  the  Mission  to  take  his  furlough,  the  second 
one  and  also  his  last.  Thus  he  served  for  twenty  years 
with  only  two  regular  furloughs. 

The  news  of  the  coming  of  additional  recruits  seemed 
to  indicate  that  the  time  for  the  expansion  of  the  Mission 
was  about  to  arrive.  For  many  years  the  Mission  had  had 
its  face  turned  toward  the  great  Baluba  country  with  a 
burning  desire  to  enter  in  and  take  possession,  but  the 
force  had  not  been  adequate  to  the  task.  The  message 
from  the  great  Convention,  together  with  the  definite  prom- 
ise of  the  Executive  Committee  to  Mr.  Martin  to  bring  the 
mission  force  up  to  seventy-five  missionaries,  filled  them 
with  renewed  hope  and  vigor. 

It  was  decided  that  Dr.  Morrison  should  take  another 
trip  to  the  Baluba  country  "to  spy  out  the  land"  and  to  make 
definite  selections  of  new  stations.  Of  course,  the  new 
missionaries  were  not  to  occupy  these  stations  as  soon  as 
they  arrived  in  the  field.  The  Mission  had  learned,  from 
past  experience,  that  it  would  probably  take  several  years 
to  secure  the  right  to  occupy  the  land.  It  was  further 
determined  that  Mr.  Bedinger,  who  had  just  arrived  in 
the  field,  should  accompany  him  on  his  journey.  Mr. 
*Disputes  among  the  natives. 


William  McCutchan  Morrison  127 

Bedinger  states  that  this  was  one  of  the  most  delightful 
experiences  of  his  life  and  the  true  greatness  of  the  man 
made  an  indelible  impression  upon  him.  They  walked  all 
the  way,  because  Dr.  Morrison  was  a  very  heavy  man  and 
would  not  allow  the  natives  to  carry  him  in  a  hammock. 
There  was  always  much  confusion  in  the  early  morning, 
when  they  were  making  their  preparations  for  the  day's 
journey,  so  that  their  morning  devotions  were  nearly  al- 
ways interrupted.  But  as  soon  as  they  got  beyond  the 
noise  and  din  of  the  village  Dr.  Morrison  would  take  his 
companion  by  the  arm  and  lead  him  into  some  quiet,  se- 
cluded spot  by  the  roadside  for  a  season  of  prayer.  Mr. 
Bedinger  says  he  never  heard  such  soul-stirring  prayers 
as  Dr.  Morrison  offered  as  he  poured  out  his  heart  before 
God.  Dr.  Morrison  never  undertook  any  task,  great  or 
small,  without  prayer. 

They  followed  practically  the  same  route  that  Dr.  and 
Mrs.  Morrison  had  taken  two  years  before.  They  went 
from  Luebo  directly  to  Luluaburg,  thence  south  into  the 
Baluba  country.  They  selected  a  site  which  seemed  to  be 
suitable  for  mission  purposes.  We  may  remark  in  this 
connection,  that  after  eight  years  the  Mission,  at  the  pres- 
ent writing,  is  still  negotiating  with  the  government  for  a 
concession  in  this  section.  Several  places  have  already 
been  refused,  and  the  temporary  site  at  Bibangu  is  under 
dispute  at  this  time.  After  spending  several  weeks  in  this 
section  they  journeyed  on  to  Lusambo  and  chose  another 
site. 

At  Lusambo  Dr.  Morrison  secured  passage  to  Leopold- 
ville  on  his  journey  homeward,  and  Mr.  Bedinger  returned 
to  Luebo  alone. 

Dr.  Morrison  took  with  him  a  young  man  named  Mata- 

bisha  to  assist  him  in  the  completion  of  the  Bible  transla- 

—5—  -   ^ 


128  Twenty  Years  in  Africa 

tions  he  had  undertaken  the  year  before.  They  reached 
London  in  September,  where  they  met  the  new  party  of 
outgoing  missionaries.  Several  most  dehghtful  and  profit- 
able days  were  spent  there  with  him,  and  they  received 
most  valuable  information  from  him  as  to  the  purchase  of 
supplies.  Matabisha  spent  several  weeks  with  him  in  Lon- 
don, until  the  Bible  work  was  completed  and  then  returned 
to  Luebo  with  a  later  party  of  missionaries.  Dr.  Morrison 
sailed  for  America  and  placed  the  mjanuscripts  in  the 
hands  of  the  American  Tract  Society  for  publication. 

His  time  at  home  was  spent  much  more  quietly  than  on 
his  first  furlough.  He  visited  many  churches  throughout 
the  Assembly,  and  his  thrilling  message  never  failed  to 
awaken  his  hearers  to  a  deeper  sense  of  their  responsibility 
toward  the  benighted  tribes  of  the  Congo. 

While  at  home  his  heart  was  burdened  with  the  great 
sorrow  that  came  to  him  in  the  death  of  his  aged  mother. 
She  had  lived  a  long  and  useful  life;  she  had  finished  her 
course  and  was  prepared  to  receive  the  crown  of  righteous- 
ness that  was  laid  up  for  her.  Her  name  will  stand  high 
in  the  list  of  that  innumerable  host  of  godly  and  pious 
mothers  who  have  given  great  sons  to  the  service  of  man- 
kind. She  was  "twice  his  mother,"  for  she  gave  him  his 
physical  life  and  through  her  prayers  and  godly  example 
he  was  born  again  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 

Shortly  after  the  death  of  his  mother  Dr.  Morrison,  re- 
turned to  his  work  in  Luebo.  A  farewell  service  was  held 
for  him  in  the  Monmouth  Church,  of  which  he  was  a  mem- 
ber. I  was  told  by  one  present  on  that  occasion  that  his 
parting  message  to  the  congregation  was  one  of  the  most 
touching  he  had  ever  heard.  In  his  closing  remarks  he 
asked  them  to  remember  him  in  their  prayers,  stating  that 
he  was  now  doubly  in  need  of  them,  as  he  had  been  deprived 


William  McCutchan  Morrison  129 

of  his  two  most  devoted  companions — his  wife  and  his 
mother.  The  entire  congregation  was  moved  to  tears  at 
his  pathetic  appeal;  he  alone  remained  calm  and  self- 
possessed.  Little  did  they  dream  that  this  was  his  vale- 
dictory address  to  them  and  that  they  would  see  his  face 
no  more. 


CHAPTER  XIV 
®1|0  iKiBBtonary  g>tatfBtttatt 

Characterization  of  Dr.  Morrison  as  a  Missionary  Leader— His  In- 
fluence in  Establishing  Other  Missions— The  Protestants  of  Bel- 
gium—The Mennonite  Mission— The  Methodist  Mission— Found- 
ing of  the  Methodist  Mission— Dr.  Morrison  Sails  with  the  Pio- 
neer Party— Mission  Policy— Relations  of  Missionaries  to  State 
Oflicials- Relations  with  Roman  Catholics— Relations  with  the 
Native  People— Relations  to  the  Home  Church— Relations  with 
Fellow  Missionaries— Care  of  the  Spiritual  Life— Native  Palavers 
—Approach  to  the  People  with  the  Gospel— Testimony  of  Bishop 
Lambuth— The  Conference  of  Protestant  Missions— Dr.  Morri- 
son's Influence  in  the  Conference. 

Dr.  du  Plissis,  one  of  the  great  missionary  leaders  of 
the  Dutch  Reformed  Church  in  South  Africa,  who  has 
journeyed  twice  across  the  continent  of  Africa,  has  paid 
the  following  tribute  to  Dr.  Morrison:  "In  my  journeyings 
back  and  forth  across  the  continent  of  Africa  I  have  en- 
joyed the  high  privilege  of  meeting  and  conversing  with 
hundreds  of  missionaries  belonging  to  many  different  so- 
cieties and  many  different  nationalities.  Of  all  these  there 
was  none  for  whose  person  I  conceived  so  great  an  esteem 
and  whose  character  and  influence  I  could  so  unreservedly 
admire  as  Dr.  Morrison.  It  may  be  that  our  common 
Presbyterianism  first  drew  us  together;  but  I  was  not  long 
in  discovering  that  he  was  no  narrow  sectarian  and  that 
the  little  pool  of  his  own  denomination  was  soon  submerged 
beneath  the  flowing  tide  of  his  broad  humanity  and  warm- 
hearted Christianity.  He  belonged  not  to  a  church,  but 
to  the  church;  he  was  a  missionary  not  of  the  American 
Presbyterian  Congo  Mission,  but  of  Christ;  he  called  no 
man  lord,  but  all  men  brothers." 

These    are    the    qualities    of   heart    and    mind,    acquired 


132  Twenty  Years  in  Africa 

through  many  years  of  experience,  that  characterized  Dr. 
Morrison  as  a  great  missionary  statesman. 

It  is  said  that  WiUiam  Carey  kept  a  map  of  the  world 
before  him,  while  busy  at  his  daily  tasks,  and  that  the  con- 
templation of  the  world's  need  led  him  into  missionary 
service.  In  the  vision  of  this  plain  humble  cobbler,  mod- 
ern missionary  enterprise  had  its  birth. 

Dr.  Morrison  likewise  was  interested  in  the  evangeliza- 
tion of  the  whole  world,  but  he  concentrated  his  attention 
especially  upon  the  Dark  Continent.  He  kept  the  map  of 
Africa  constantly  before  his  eyes.  He  mapped  out  the 
field  for  which  our  own  church  had  assumed  the  responsi- 
bility and  endeavored  to  select  the  places  of  strategic  im- 
portance for  the  location  of  mission  stations.  He  studied 
the  tribes  immediately  contiguous  to  our  territory  and  en- 
deavored to  induce  other  denominations  to  take  up  the  task 
of  evangelization.  It  was  his  earnest  desire  that  the  dif- 
ferent denominations  should  work  among  tribes  speaking 
different  dialects.  This  was  not  a  selfish  desire  on  his  part 
to  advance  his  particular  denomination  to  the  injury  and 
exclusion  of  others,  but  for  the  different  denominations  to 
overlap  in  their  efforts,  when  there  were  vast  regions  yet 
unoccupied,  seemed  to  him  a  selfish  waste  of  energy  and 
contrary  to  the  mind  and  will  of  Christ.  Why  build  upon 
another  man's  foundation  when  there  were  multitudes  near- 
by who  had  never  heard  the  name  of  Christ? 

Because  of  his  burning  desire  to  advance  the  kingdom 
of  Christ  in  Africa,  Dr.  Morrison  opened  correspondence 
with  the  Evangelical  Churches  in  Belgium,  with  a  view 
to  establishing  a  mission  in  the  Congo.  Perhaps  it  was 
largely  due  to  his  influence  that  the  Rev.  Henri  Anet,  head 
of  the  Evangelical  Churches  in  Belgium,  made  a  voyage 
to  the  Congo  in  191 1  to  select  a  field  suitable  for  missionary 


William  McCutchan  Morrison  133 

activity.  In  the  course  of  his  journey  he  visited  Luebo, 
and  a  strong  bond  of  friendship  sprang  up  between  him 
and  Dr.  Morrison.  He  selected  a  site  in  the  unoccupied 
region  near  Tshofa,  to  the  east  of  our  territory,  and  se- 
cured a  concession.  Active  work  has  not  yet  begun,  how- 
ever, on  account  of  the  great  World  War. 

Later  on,  a  deputation  sent  out  by  the  Mennonite  Breth- 
ren visited  Luebo  to  consult  with  Dr.  Morrison,  and  he 
advised  them  to  locate  near  the  Kasai  River  and  work 
toward  the  west  among  the  Bachoka  and  other  kindred 
tribes  that  were  yet  untouched  by  the  gospel.  This  mis- 
sion is  known  as  the  Congo  Inland  Mission,  which,  at 
present,  is  confining  its  efforts  almost  entirely  to  the 
Baluba  speaking  tribes.  Our  Mission  is  cooperating  heart- 
ily and  supplies  practically  all  of  its  literature. 

In  1910  Bishop  W.  R.  Lambuth  was  sent  out  by  the 
Southern  Methodist  Church  to  visit  central  Africa  and  to 
select  a  field  of  missionary  operation  for  his  church.  He 
came  to  Luebo  to  consult  with  Dr.  Morrison.  He  was 
directed  to  the  great  untouched  tribe  of  the  Batetela,  to 
the  northeast  of  Lusambo  and  aided  in  his  journey  thither. 
Our  Mission  furnished  him  with  a  caravan,  among  them 
being  a  boy  who  could  speak  English  as  well  as  a  dozen 
or  more  African  dialects.  We  also  sent  with  him  several 
members  of  the  Batetela  tribe  who  had  already  settled  at 
Luebo.  After  a  long  hard  journey  they  reached  the  village 
of  Wembo  Niama,  chief  of  the  Batetela  tribe,  and  received 
an  enthusiastic  welcome  from  him.  One  of  the  members 
of  the  caravan  had  been  a  boyhood  friend  of  the  chief, 
and,  while  they  had  not  met  for  many  years,  they  immedi- 
ately recognized  each  other.  It  was  largely  through  the 
influence  of  this  man,  who  was  then  an  elder  in  our  church 
at  Luebo,  that  the  chief  received  them  so  cordially.     The 


134  Twenty  Years  in  Africa 

chief  declared  his  entire  kingdom  open  to  them  and  invited 
them  to  establish  a  station  in  his  own  capital.  Having 
obtained  the  chief's  consent,  Bishop  Lambuth  lost  no  time 
in  applying  for  a  concession  and  returned  home  to  seek 
recruits  to  begin  the  work. 

This  task  was  accomplished  early  in  1913,  and  the  party 
was  ready  to  sail  just  as  Dr.  Morrison  was  returning  from 
his  second  furlough.  He  gladly  joined  the  party  and  jour- 
neyed to  Luebo  with  them. 

While  on  this  journey  Dr.  Morrison  met  with  the  new 
missionaries  daily  and  gave  them  lectures  on  missionary 
work  taken  from  his  own  personal  experience.  Bishop 
Lambuth  states  that  the  practical  knowledge  the  new  mis- 
sionaries received  from  these  lectures  was  worth  more  to 
them  than  two  years  of  actual  experience  in  the  field.  At 
Bishop  Lambuth's  urgent  request,  Dr.  Morrison  began 
to  put  these  lectures  into  book  form,  with  the  view  of 
publication  under  the  title  of  "Mission  Policy,"  but  his 
death  prevented  the  accomplishment  of  this  task.  Many 
of  the  notes  that  he  used,  however,  are  at  hand  and 
a  very  brief  review  of  this  material  will  give  the  reader 
some  conception  of  the  ideas  and  ideals  that  inspired  Dr. 
Morrison  as  a  true  missionary  statesman.  While  the  ad- 
vice given  is  primarily  for  missionaries,  yet  it  will  give  the 
reader  an  insight  into  the  missionary's  life  and  what  is 
expected  and  required  of  him. 

As  Dr.  Morrison  has  so  freely  expressed  indignation 
against  the  whole  system  of  government  as  administered 
in  the  Congo,  we  might  naturally  think  that  he  also  had 
unbounded  contempt  for  all  the  officials  of  that  govern- 
ment. But  such  is  not  the  case.  He  always  conducted 
himself  in  the  most  courteous  manner  in  the  presence  of 
those  in  authority  and  never  lost  his  self-control.     Indeed, 


William  McCutchan  Morrison  135 

a  very  prominent  official  once  stated  that  Dr.  Morrison 
was  one  of  the  most  remarkable  men  he  had  ever  met,  be- 
cause he  could  rebuke  a  man  in  the  most  withering  terms 
and  then  make  himself  a  most  pleasant  and  entertaining 
companion.  He  could  do  this  because  he  pitied  the  official 
more  than  he  blamed  him,  and  regarded  him  more  as  a 
victim  of  the  "system"  in  vogue  rather  than  as  one  person- 
ally responsible  for  his  course  of  action.  He  regarded  the 
social  relation  of  the  missionary  with  the  Government  staff 
as  of  prime  importance. 

This  subject  comes  first  on  the  list  in  his  advice  to  the 
new^  missionaries.  He  says:  "The  general  principle  to  be 
observed  is  that  we  are  foreigners  who  wish  to  conform  to 
the  customs  of  the  ruling  people  of  the  Congo.  The  Bel- 
gians appear  to  us  to  be  eft"usive  in  their  manner,  while 
we  probably  appear  to  them  to  be  abrupt  and  uncouth. 
Therefore,  sociability  and  the  amenities  should  be  observed. 

"When  passing  through  or  near  a  station,  government 
post  or  trading  establishment,  always  observe  the  custom  of 
going  in  and  paying  your  respects  to  the  officials  in  charge. 
It  is  the  Belgian  custom  for  the  new  comer  to  make  the 
first  call. 

"We  should  recognize  at  the  beginning  that  both  Pro- 
testant and  Roman  Catholic  missionaries  are  in  the  same 
work  of  establishing  the  kingdom  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
among  the  Congo  people.  We  desire  to  be  open  minded 
and  charitable  toward  all  who  come  in  the  name  of  Jesus 
Christ.  The  difficulties  that  arise  between  our  adherents 
and  those  of  the  Roman  Catholics  can  usually  be  more 
amicably  settled  by  a  personal  visit  to  the  priest  in  charge 
than  by  reference  to  a  State  official.  Extend  to  the  Roman 
Catholic  missionaries  the  same  courtesy  as  to  other  for- 
eigners.    In  case  of  difficulties  it  is  better  to  receive  than 


136  Twenty  Years  in  Africa 

to  give  insults.  Do  not  let  personal  animosity  enter  into 
the  controversy  at  all.  There  are  enough  great  essential 
principles  of  doctrine  and  Christian  living  to  teach  without 
wasting  time  and  creating  disturbances  by  emphasizing 
denominational  differences. 

"The  policy  should  be  to  have  unity  and  cooperation 
between  Protestant  Missions  in  all  possible  undertakings, 
such  as  steamboat  transportation,  training  schools  for  the 
native  helpers,  printing  presses,  etc.  The  reasons  for  this 
are  evident  in  the  securing  of  greater  strength  and  economy. 
This  will  be  a  saving  of  time,  money  and  men  for  running 
the  machinery  of  the  missions.  Furthermore,  in  the  eyes 
of  the  government  and  of  the  Roman  Catholics  and  of  the 
natives  it  can  be  seen  that  although  the  Protestants  may 
use  different  methods  they  are  united  in  spirit  and  purpose. 
The  native  people  are  saved  endless  confusion  by  coopera- 
tion among  missionaries.  There  should  also  be  an  agree- 
ment among  the  different  Protestant  missions  as  to  the 
division  of  the  fields  of  labor. 

"We  should  remember  first  and  last  that  the  natives 
should  be  treated  as  kindly  and  courteously  as  white  people. 
We  should  always  keep  in  mind  that  we  are  their  servants 
and  not  their  masters.  Under  their  black  skins  they  have 
feelings  and  sensibilities  similar  to  ours,  which  ought  to 
be  respected.  If  we  laugh  at  their  customs,  appearance 
or  fetishes,  we  destroy  their  confidence  in  us  and  repel 
them.  Greet  them  with  a  pleasant  word  and  do  not  fear  to 
shake  hands  with  them,  even  if  they  do  appear  somewhat 
imtidy. 

"On  the  other  hand,  you  will  need  to  maintain  your  dig- 
nity and  repress  undue  familiarity  or  insolence.  Be  kind 
and  firm  but  never  harsh.  In  settling  disputes  between 
them  be  absolutely  just.     If  you  make  a  mistake  it  is  best 


William  McCutctian  Morrison  137 

to  confess  it  in  their  presence.  Conform  to  the  dignified 
customs  of  chiefs  and  dignitaries  where  no  morals  are  in- 
volved. Be  ready  to  receive  the  natives  without  becoming 
impatient  when  you  are  busy.  It  is  said  that  George  Gren- 
fell  was  in  Africa  more  than  twenty  years  and  never 
preached  a  sermon.  His  life  spoke  louder  than  any  sermon 
he  could  have  preached. 

"Be  sure  to  write  regularly  to  the  church  or  person  sup- 
porting you.  It  is  their  due.  Very  much  of  the  success 
of  the  missionary  enterprise  depends  upon  the  regular  re- 
ports from  the  missionaries  on  the  field.  Be  prompt  and 
faithful  in  keeping  your  work  before  the  church  at  home. 
In  your  correspondence  never  pose  as  a  martyr.  The  diffi- 
culties appear  greater  to  the  people  at  home,  and  these 
very  troubles  may  have  disappeared  and  be  forgotten  by 
you  before  the  letter  reaches  home. 

"The  necessity  of  living  close  together  on  the  mission 
stations  is  liable  to  bring  difficulties.  We  must  bear  toward 
each  other  all  possible  patience,  forbearance  and  Christian 
endurance.  Do  the  work  assigned  to  you  as  best  you  can, 
and,  at  the  same  time,  consult  and  have  proper  regard  for 
the  opinion  of  the  majority  of  the  mission.  Friction  can 
usually  be  avoided  by  having  open  discussions  in  a  frank 
and  kindly  spirit.  Never  be  on  the  lookout  for  slights. 
On  the  station  you  will  want  to  be  cordial,  social  and 
brotherly,  like  a  family.  Try  to  get  on  the  inside  and  look 
out ;  don't  stand  on  the  outside  and  'knock.'  Don't  be  too 
sensitive ;  have  a  saving  sense  of  humor  and  try  to  make 
fun  even  of  the  most  unpleasant  things.  Have  some  occa- 
sion to  see  each  other  daily,  such  as  an  afternoon  tea, 
games  for  social  enjoyment  or  a  gathering  for  prayer. 

"Be  cheerful.     Faith  in  God  and  reliance  upon  Him  is  a 


138  Twenty  Years  in  Africa 

physical  benefit.  Never  tell  a  person  that  he  is  looking 
unwell  in  the  Congo. 

"Be  anxious  about  nothing.  Early  in  the  morning  place 
yourself  in  God's  hands. 

"Do  not  think  about  being  sick.  When  you  have  a  fever 
do  not  regard  it  too  seriously ;  thousands  have  recovered 
from  fever.  Do  not  try  to  'hustle  Africa.'  The  tendency 
is  to  be  restless  and  nervous.  Constant  straining  and  work- 
ing up  to  the  top  notch  will  get  on  your  nerves.  When  you 
work  be  in  earnest,  but  you  have  to  take  more  rest  in  the 
Congo  than  at  home.  Make  it  the  rule  of  your  life  to 
take  an  hour's  rest  at  midday  and  some  sleep.  Keep  this 
hour  sacred.  Get  plenty  of  sleep  at  night,  for  it  is  your 
stock  in  trade  for  the  next  day. 

"There  must  be  some  diversion  in  connection  with  your 
daily  tasks.  Occasionally  have  a  party  and  wear  your  best 
clothes,  for  this  will  keep  up  the  social  spirit  and  also  be 
restful  to  you. 

"It  will  cost  effort  to  keep  up  your  spiritual  life  on  the 
mission.  You  are  constantly  giving  out  to  others,  and  you 
must  be  vigilant  to  keep  your  spiritual  life  from  declining. 
There  will  have  to  be  agonizing,  prayerful  thought  during 
one  hour  kept  sacred  each  day.  Do  not  take  the  rest  hour 
at  midday  which  ought  to  be  kept  just  as  sacred  for  phys- 
ical rest.  Get  the  hour  as  early  in  the  morning  as  possible, 
for  this  will  give  you  poise,  repose  in  God  and  strength  for 
the  work  of  the  day.  Deliberately  plan  for  the  early  morn- 
ing devotion.  It  is  a  good  plan  to  read  some  devotional 
books  on  prayer.  The  missionaries  on  the  station  should 
meet  together  for  prayer  during  the  week  and  for  preach- 
ing in  English  on  Sunday  night. 

"  'Palaver'  means  any  kind  of  quarrel,  dispute  or  conten- 
tion.    This  is  a  very  important  and  delicate   subject  and 


William  McCutchan  Morrison  139 

requires  the  utmost  patience,  tact  and  wisdom.  Palavers 
offer  us  the  opportunity  of  showing  our  interest  in  the 
natives  and  of  demonstrating  the  Bible  principles  of  right 
and  justice.  But  all  this  has  to  be  done  cautiously.  Do 
not  usurp  the  authority  of  the  chief  or  let  him  get  the 
impression  that  you  are  trying  to  do  so.  This  requires 
diplomacy.  You  are  to  teach  the  chief  as  far  as  possible. 
It  is  necessary  to  be  cautious  of  the  jealousy  of  the  State 
in  your  assuming  the  settling  of  palavers  among  the  people. 
Some  of  the  officials  resent  the  coming  of  the  natives  to 
missionaries  for  the  settling  of  palavers.  But  some  of  your 
church  members  will  come  to  you  as  their  pastor  and 
helper,  and  it  is  hard  to  turn  them  away,  for  they  will  feel 
that  you  have  no  interest  in  them.  W'hile  there  are  certain 
cases  that  can  be  settled  only  by  the  State,  yet  there  can  be 
no  law  against  the  native  going  to  an  outsider  to  have  his 
case  arbitrated. 

"The  approach  to  the  people  with  the  gospel  is  a  very 
important  question.  There  are  perhaps  some  people,  vil- 
lages and  tribes  to  whom  we  ought  not  to  go  until  the  Holy 
Spirit  has  made  them  ready  to  hear  the  gospel.  Some  peo- 
ple seem  to  be  unapproachable,  and  therefore  we  should 
follow  the  line  of  greatest  cleavage,  where  the  Holy  Spirit 
has  prepared  the  people.  This  was  the  method  of  our 
Saviour  who  did  not  wish  to  waste  time  on  those  who  re- 
fused to  hear  to  the  exclusion  of  those  who  were  eager  to 
hear. 

"In  preaching  to  the  people  have  respect  for  their  feel- 
ings and  do  not  laugh  at  their  fetishes  or  their  worship. 
Bring  out  God's  benevolence,  calling  their  attention  to  the 
One  who  makes  the  grain  to  grow.  If  they  say  that  they 
can  see  their  god  but  can  not  see  ours,  ask  them  to  explain 
the  wind  and  call  their  attention  to  the  power  that  is  hid- 


I40  Twenty  Years  in  Africa 

den.  Tell  them  their  god  is  created,  but  ours  is  a  Creator. 
This  God  is  a  person  who  has  left  laws  for  men  to  obey. 
When  you  break  these  laws  you  must  be  punished  just  as 
a  chief  treats  his  subjects  when  they  disobey  his  laws.  In 
preaching  try  to  be  as  vivid  as  possible  and  appeal  to  the 
imagination.  Use  native  proverbs  and  parables  whenever 
possible,  for  they  are  singularly  rich  in  material  with  which 
to  illustrate  religious  truth.  'Without  a  parable  spake  He 
not  unto  them.' 

"Give  daily  instruction  to  those  who  wish  to  know  more 
about  the  plan  of  salvation  and  desire  to  become  Christians. 
At  first  teach  them  the  simple  attributes  of  God,  the  work 
of  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  fall  and  redemption  through  Christ, 
repentance,  faith,  the  future  life  and  prayer.  Train  them 
in  worship.  Sabbath  observance,  charity,  generosity  and 
giving  the  gospel  to  others.  The  raw  natives  should  be 
trained  many  months  before  being  received  into  the  church. 
Do  not  take  them  in  before  they  understand  or  keep  them 
away  too  long  from  the  training  and  help  of  the  church. 
Remember  the  church  is  a  training  school  in  which  Chris- 
tian character  is  developed. 

"It  is  better,  as  a  general  rule,  for  the  missionary  not  to 
ask  a  native  to  join  the  church,  because  the  native  thinks 
he  is  under  obligation  to  do  what  the  white  man  says. 
Urge  upon  the  native  Christians  themselves  the  duty  of 
personal  work." 

These  are  a  few  of  the  fundamental  principles  that  must 
be  adhered  to  in  the  propagation  of  the  gospel  in  Africa, 
and  these  are  the  principles  that  Dr.  Morrison  followed 
so  successfully  in  his  dealings  with  the  native  people.  His 
success  as  a  missionary  leader  did  not  hinge  on  the  great 
things  he  did,  but  rather  on  his  mastery  of  the  fundamental 


William  McCutchan  Morrison  141 

details  of  his  daily  tasks.     It  can  be  said  of  him,  in  the 
words  of  Wordsworth, 

"The  best  part  of  a  good  man's  life, 
His  little,  nameless,  unremembered  acts  of  kindness  and  love." 

One  of  the  most  striking  testimonies  to  the  ability  of 
Dr.  Morrison  as  a  missionary  statesman  has  been  borne  by 
Bishop  Lambuth.  After  a  dozen  or  more  native  Christians 
had  gone  from  Luebo  to  Wembo  Niama  to  be  organized 
into  the  first  Methodist  church  in  that  part  of  Africa,  and 
after  Dr.  Lambuth,  as  bishop  of  Africa,  had  established 
the  new  mission  and  was  returning  to  his  duties  in  Ameri- 
ca, he  appointed  Dr.  Morrison  to  act  as  counsellor  to  the 
newly  established  mission.  The  spirit  of  unity  and  coop- 
eration that  exists  betw  een  these  two  missions  is  due  large- 
ly to  the  intimate  friendship  that  sprang  up  between  these 
two  great  missionary  leaders. 

The  greatest  testimony  to  his  genius  as  a  missionary 
leader  is  to  be  found  in  the  fact  that  he  was  twice  elected 
President  of  the  Conference  of  Protestant  Missions  in  the 
Congo.  This  organization,  composed  of  practically  all  the 
Protestant  Missions  working  in  the  Congo,  had  its  origin 
during  the  dark  days  of  the  old  Congo  Independent  State 
regime.  Repeated  reference  has  been  made  to  the  fact  that 
under  this  regime  it  was  practically  impossible  for  Protest- 
ant Missions  to  carry  on  any  aggressive  work.  The  crafty 
officials  would  play  one  against  the  other.  If  one  society 
complained  of  unjust  treatment  the  officials  would  imme- 
diately cite  the  example  of  the  Mission  that  was  enjoying 
their  favor  at  the  time  and,  therefore,  had  nothing  to  com- 
plain about.  They  then  made  it  appear  that  this  was  the 
general  condition  and  that  the  accusations  of  the  complain- 
ing society  were  unfounded.  In  order  to  combat  this 
double-dealing  policy  of  the  State  the  Protestant  Missions 


142  Twenty  Years  in  Africa 

realized  that  unity  and  cooperation  were  the  price  of  their 
existence.  At  the  present  time  the  Conference  is  composed 
of  some  fourteen  societies.  They  meet  once  every  four 
years  for  the  purpose  of  hearing  reports  on  the  work  of  the 
different  missions  and  for  the  laying  of  plans  that  will 
promote  the  kingdom  of  Christ.  The  sessions  of  the  Con- 
ference of  necessity  last  only  a  few  days  and  then  the 
workers  return  to  their  widely  scattered  fields.  That  the 
Conference  may  accomplish  the  purpose  for  which  it  was 
founded  it  was  necessary  to  devise  some  means  by  which 
their  plans   could  be  carried  out  during  the  long  interim 


THE    191S    CONFERENCE 

between  the  meetings.  To  accomplish  this  task  a  Continu- 
ation Committee,  with  the  President  of  the  Conference  at 
its  head,  was  created  to  carry  out  the  plans  that  had  been 
formulated.  They,  therefore,  must  choose  the  most  aggres- 
sive, broad-gauged  and  tactful  man  at  their  disposal. 

It  was  the  great  privilege  of  our  own  Mission  to  enter- 
tain this  Conference  in  February,  1918.  Dr.  Morrison  had 
already  been  elected  President,  but,  having  been  unable  to 
attend  the  former  Conference,  he  had  not  been  inducted 
into  office.  He,  therefore,  did  not  assume  the  duties  of  this 
office  until  the  opening  night  of  the  Conference  at  Luebo. 

In  a  few  brief,  well  chosen  words  he  welcomed  the  vis- 


William  McCutchan  Morrison  143 

iters  to  Luebo  and  thanked  them  for  the  high  honor  con- 
ferred upon  him  in  calling  him  to  be  their  President. 

He  took  as  his  text  for  the  opening  sermon  John  xiv:i, 
"Let  not  your  heart  be  troubled,"  and  spoke  on  the  subject 
of  "Christ's  calm  for  all  His  people."  "Let  not  your  heart 
be  troubled,  neither  let  it  be  afraid.  Afraid  of  what?"  he 
said.  "U  God  be  for  us  who  can  be  against  us?"  His 
hearers  knew  that  this  man  had  a  courage  born  of  God  and 
that  he  was  not  afraid  to  undertake  any  task  in  the  service 
of  God. 

Dr.  Morrison  presided  over  the  sessions  of  the  Confer- 
ence in  the  most  impartial  and  tactful  manner.  The  fact 
that  he  kept  representatives  of  nine  different  denominations 
at  perfect  peace  and  accord  during  all  their  deliberations 
so  that  no  friction  of  any  consequence  arose  between  them 
is  sufficient  proof  of  his  ability  as  a  moderator.  Only  on 
one  occasion  did  the  discussion  begin  to  strike  fire.  Dr. 
Morrison  very  calmly  stopped  the  proceedings  for  a  word 
of  prayer  and  asked  the  two  contending  brethren  to  lead 
in  that  prayer.  It  was  a  master  stroke,  for  a  smile  began 
to  break  over  their  faces  and  when  the  prayer  was  ended 
the  discussion  ceased.  He  completely  won  the  hearts  of 
all  those  present  at  the  Conference,  which  fact  was  evi- 
denced when  he  was  unanimously  chosen  to  be  their  Presi- 
dent during  the  next  four  years.  Thus  he  came  to  be 
recognized  as  the  leader  of  all  the  Protestant  forces  work- 
ing in  the  Congo  and  as  a  man  worthy  to  be  entrusted  with 
the  responsibility  of  directing  their  united  efforts  in  the 
common  cause  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ. 

In  the  closing  hour  of  the  Conference,  when  the  various 
delegates  were  felicitating  themselves  on  the  vision  that 
had  been  brought  to  them  of  the  great  work  of  a  great  mis- 
sion, one  of  them  said :  "Mr.  Chairman,  it  is  a  revelation  to 


144  Twenty  Years  in  Africa 

us,  this  great  work  of  yours  here  at  Luebo,  and  we  wonder 
why  you  have  not  told  the  world  more  about  it." 

Dr.  Morrison  replied  to  this  as  follows :  "Dear  brethren, 
it  fills  us  with  a  sense  of  pride  and  yet  of  humility  that  you 
should  have  gained  such  an  impression  and  that  you  should 
go  away  with  this  feeling  toward  us  and  this  great  work. 
But  I  wish  also  to  say  that  we  feel  that  it  is  a  great  re- 
sponsibility laid  on  us.  How  we  tremble  for  these  babes 
in  Christ  who  have  been  brought  into  the  church,  and  how 
we  trust  that  you  will  utter  a  prayer  that  we  shall  be  used 
of  God  to  train  them  in  the  nurture  and  admonition  of  the 
Lord! 

"If  the  work  is  a  success  it  is  not  due  to  any  superiority 
of  the  missionaries  or  to  our  methods,  but  aside  from  the 
Divine  element  which  has  played  the  most  important  part 
in  helping  us  to  reach  them,  you  must  remember  that  the 
Southern  man  knows  the  negro  best  and  probably  loves 
him  more  deeply  than  you  realize.  May  I  here  give  testi- 
mony to  my  own  personal  relations  with  them?  They  were 
my  boyhood  playmates.  In  the  home  they  were  not  only 
servants  but  members  of  our  household.  As  a  babe  I  knew 
my  old  black  'mammy'  almost  as  I  knew  my  mother.  She 
nursed  me  in  my  days  of  illness  and  health,  and  when  my 
mother  was  absent  and  I  cried  from  hunger  she  even  nour- 
ished me  at  her  own  breast." 


CHAPTER  XV 

i^t  EfBlB  from  l^ia  Habora  aitb  ^\B  Horkfi  io 
iPnllnui  l^im 

He  Visits  the  Stations  of  Our  Mission  and  of  the  Methodist  Mission 
— Wonderful  Growth  of  the  Work  during  His  Lifetime — His  Last 
Ilhiess — His  Death  and  Burial  at  Luebo. 

The  closing  days  of  the  life  of  Dr.  Morrison  were  among 
the  btisiest  in  all  his  missionary  experience.  During  the 
latter  months  of  the  year  1917  he  made  a  journey  to  the 
Methodist  Mission  at  Wembo  Niama  and  I^ubefu.  He 
took  this  trip  at  the  urgent  request  of  Bishop  Lambuth, 
who  had  appointed  him  "bishop"  and  spiritual  advisor  of 
this  diocese.  He  had  the  pleasure  of  sending  to  the  Bishop 
a  most  encouraging  report  of  the  work  accomplished  by 
this  young  Mission. 

En  route  to  Wembo  Niama  Dr.  Morrison  made  a  detour, 
visiting  each  one  of  our  own  stations  which  had  been  estab- 
lished since  he  had  taken  the  trip  with  Mr.  Bedinger  sev- 
eral years  before. 

The  physical  stamina  of  the  man  is  evidenced  by  the  fact 
that  the  greater  part  of  this  journey  of  over  one  thousand 
miles  was  made  on  foot.  The  missionaries  looked  for- 
ward eagerly  to  his  coming,  always  sure  of  his  large- 
hearted  sympathy  and  helpful  counsel.  He  saw  the  won- 
derful success  with  which  the  work  had  been  blessed 
since  his  previous  survey,  and  the  unparalleled  opportunity 
for  advance  awaiting  the  Mission.  He  also  studied  the 
[)roblems  that  confronted  the  missionaries  in  their  particu- 
lar spheres  of  influence.  Having  thus  familiarized  himself 
with  the  actual  conditions  at  each  station,  it  seemed  as 
though  he  was  better  prepared  than  ever  before  to  fill  his 


146 


Twenty  Years  in  Africa 


high  position  of  administrator  and  advisor  of  the  two  Mis- 
sions. However,  this  was  not  the  case.  He,  hke  Moses, 
was  standing  on  the  mountain  top  of  privilege,  but  he 
would  not  pass  over.    He  was  setting  his  house  in  order. 

And  let  us  take  a  retrospective  glance  over  the  way  along 
which  God  had  led  him.  There  were  times  when  Dr. 
Morrison  had  been  called  upon  to  pass  through  the  valley 


THE    NATIVE    CHURCH 


of  the  shadow  of  death  and  learned  to  know  Christ  in  the 
fellowship  of  His  sufTering.  He  had  been  called  upon  to 
endure  persecution  and  heart-breaking  trials  and  disap- 
pointments in  his  missionary  labors.  He  knew  what  it  was 
to  "climb  the  steep  ascent  of  heaven  through  peril,  toil  and 
pain,"  but  at  eventide  there  was  light. 

When  Dr.  Morrison  reached  Luebo  in  1897  the  Mission 
consisted  of  one  station  occupied  by  eight  missionaries, 
only  three  of  whom  were  white.     At  the  time  of  his  death, 


William  McCutciian  Morrison  147 

in  19 18,  there  were  six  stations  and  more  than  twoscore 
missionaries  to  uphold  his  hands. 

When  he  reached  Luebo  the  native  converts  numbered 
less  than  fifty.  When  he  laid  down  his  work  they  num- 
bered over  seventeen  thousand.  When  he  reached  Luebo 
the  out  stations  could  be  counted  on  the  fingers  of  one  hand. 
In  1918  they  numbered  over  four  hundred  and  fifty. 

At  the  time  of  his  arrival  there  were  no  outstanding- 
Christian  leaders  among  the  natives.  There  was  not  a  pas- 
tor, an  elder,  nor  even  a  deacon  to  share  any  of  the  burden 
or  responsibility  of  the  work.  He  lived  to  see  hundreds  of 
well-trained  evangelists  in  charge  of  all  these  out  stations. 
He  took  part  in  the  ordination  of  a  score  or  more  elders 
and  deacons  and  delivered  the  charge  to  the  first  three  men 
that  were  ordained  to  the  gospel  ministry.  He  saw  hun- 
dreds of  women,  who  had  been  but  tiie  toys  and  chattels 
of  men,  find  their  liberty  in  Christ  Jesus  and  become  active 
Christian  workers.  He  went  to  the  heart  of  Africa  an 
unknown  man,  but  at  his  death  the  name  of  William  M. 
Morrison  was  known  in  three  continents.  He  had  stood 
before  the  world  as  the  champion  of  a  nation  that  had  been 
subjected  to  a  bondage  more  cruel  than  that  of  Egypt.  But 
greater  yet  than  this,  he  stood  at  the  head  of  the  united 
Protestant  forces  who  were  laboring  for  the  redemption 
of  Africa.  His  election  as  President  of  the  Conference 
of  Protestant  Missions  came  as  a  fitting  climax  lo  his  mis- 
sionary life. 

He  had  looked  forward  to  the  coming  of  the  Conference 
with  peculiar  pleasure.  During  his  twenty  years'  residence 
at  Luebo  only  two  men  from  other  missions  had  ever  visited 
our  Mission.  He  was  overjoyed  at  the  prospect  of  wel- 
coming so  many  at  one  time.  He  took  great  pleasure  in 
planning  for  their  entertainment. 


148  Twenty  Years  in  Africa 

He  was  unusually  busy  during  the  days  and  nights  of 
the  Conference.  Many  of  those  present  were  anxious  to 
discuss  mission  problems  with  him  outside  of  conference 
hours.  He  got  only  a  few  hours  sleep  during  the  ten  days 
the  Conference  was  in  session.  He  was  on  the  beach  on 
the  morning  of  March  the  4th  to  bid  the  visitors  farewell. 
He  led  in  the  parting  prayer  commending  them  to  God  and 
the  fellowship  of  His  grace. 

Immediately  upon  our  return  from  the  beach,  the  annual 
meeting  of  the  Mission  was  convened  and  this  meant  an 
extra  tax  on  Dr.  Morrison's  strength.  Before  the  Confer- 
ence adjourned  he  seemed  to  be  unwell,  but  as  it  was  not 
his  habit  to  complain  we  supposed  he  was  merely  over- 
worked and  would  be  himself  as  soon  as  ht  could  get 
more  sleep.  He  was  staying  at  my  home  at  the  time,  and 
we  noticed  that  he  ate  very  little  and  at  times  his  facial 
expression  indicated  that  he  was  suffering  intense  pain. 

He  attended  the  morning  session  of  the  Mission  meeting. 
At  noon  he  summoned  Dr.  Stixrud  and  told  him  of  his 
condition.  After  a  thorough  examination  it  was  discovered 
that  he  had  tropical  dysentery  in  a  very  violent  form  and 
was  ordered  to  bed  immediately.  The  best  known  modern 
remedies  were  administered  at  once,  for  the  doctor  realized 
the  seriousness  of  his  exhausted  condition.  Dr.  Stixrud, 
assisted  by  Dr.  King  and  our  two  trained  nurses,  Mrs. 
Stixrud  and  Miss  Elda  May  Fair,  gave  their  untiring,  skill- 
ful and  devoted  service.  The  other  missionaries  helped  to 
the  best  of  their  ability,  but  after  the  first  few  days  his 
condition  was  too  serious  to  be  entrusted  to  untrained 
hands. 

Constant  prayer  went  up  to  God  from  the  missionaries 
and  the  natives  for  his  recovery,  if  it  should  be  in  accord- 
ance with  His  will.     On  Wednesday  of  the  following  week 


William  McCutchan  Morrison  149 

the  crisis  was  reached.  All  work  in  the  Mission  was 
stopped  and  the  entire  day  was  devoted  to  prayer  and 
fasting. 

But  Dr.  Morrison  had  literally  worn  himself  out  by 
twenty  years  of  unremitting  toil  and  had  no  reserve 
strength  with  which  to  battle  against  such  a  disease.  At 
I  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  March  14th,  1918,  the  silver  cord 
was  loosed,  the  golden  bowl  was  broken  and  his  spirit  re- 
turned to  God  who  gave  it.  He  was  unconscious  when  the 
end  came,  recognizing  no  one  and  leaving  no  parting  mes- 
sage. There  was  no  struggle;  he  fell  quietly  to  sleep, 
having  just  reached  the  summit  of  the  great  divide  between 
middle  life  and  old  age. 

I  arose  the  next  morning,  filled  with  forebodings  of  the 
wailing  and  mourning  that  might  be  expected  from  his 
countless  native  friends.  I  shall  never  forget  the  scene 
that  met  my  eyes  when  I  returned  to  his  room  at  the  early 
morning  hour  just  before  the  sunrise  prayer  meeting.  The 
native  elders  and  the  pastor  were  seated  about  the  earthly 
remains  of  their  spiritual  father.  There  was  not  a  sigh,  nor 
a  sob,  nor  a  tear;  not  a  sign  of  rebellion  arose  from  their 
stricken  hearts.  Just  then  the  mission  bell  sounded  the 
hour  for  prayer  and  we  led  them  to  the  church,  the  church 
where  Kounyi  Nshila  had  so  often  stood,  and  we  prayed 
with  them  that  we  might  be  made  submissive  to  the  Divine 
will. 

The  news  of  his  death  made  a  profound  impression  on 
the  native  population  at  I.uebo,  the  greater  part  of  whom 
were  assembled  on  the  Mission  compound  with  the  rising 
of  the  sun.  They  were  quiet  and  reverent  in  the  presence 
of  his  death.  Remembering  the  native  custom  of  mourning 
for  the  dead,  as  previously  described,  nothing,  to  my  mind, 
could  speak  so  powerfully  of  the  deep  impress  of  the  teach- 


150  Twenty  Years  in  Africa 

ings  of  this  man  on  the  hearts  of  these  erstwhile  savages. 
Their  silence  and  submission  was  a  tribute  of  their  respect 
for  him.  Back  to  their  minds  came  the  lessons  that  Kuonyi 
Nshila  had  taught  them  as  to  the  meaning  of  death  in  the 
passing  of  Mama  Mutoto.  The  prayer  with  which  he  dedi- 
cated himself  to  the  work  in  Africa  had  been  answered,  his 
life  had  become  an  "open  gospel  known  and  read  of  all 
men." 

At  noon  his  body  was  placed  in  the  church  shed  and  lay 
in  state  during  the  afternoon.  Thousands  of  natives  passed 
by  in  reverent  silence  to  take  a  parting  look  at  their  friend 
and  helper. 

The  funeral  services  were  conducted  that  afternoon  at 
5  130  by  the  Rev.  A.  C.  McKinnon,  assisted  by  the  writer 
and  the  native  pastor,  Kabeya  Lukenga,  who  spoke  in  be- 
half of  the  Kasai  people.  The  service  was  for  the  native 
people  and  was  conducted  in  their  language.  A  vast  throng 
of  some  five  thousand  people  was  gathered  in  and  about 
the  church  and  the  best  of  order  was  maintained  through- 
out the  entire  service.  The  local  State  officials  attended  in 
a  body,  together  with  all  the  traders  and  a  representative 
of  the  Roman  Catholic  Mission. 

At  the  grave  Judge  Gorlia,  the  highest  State  official  resi- 
dent at  Luebo,  read  a  paper  eulogizing  Dr.  Morrison  and 
expressing  the  State's  appreciation  of  the  great  work  he 
had  done  in  the  uplifting  of  the  native  people. 

His  body  was  laid  to  rest  in  the  little  cemetery  in  the 
Mission  compound  beside  his  beloved  wife.  And  when  we 
thought  of  how  unceasingly  he  had  labored  and  how  abun- 
dantly God  had  blessed  his  work,  it  seemed  to  us  that  we 
could  hear  the  words  the  angel  spoke  to  the  Apostle  John : 
"Blessed  are  the  dead  that  die  in  the  Lord  from  henceforth : 


William  McCutchan  Morrison  151 

Yea,  saith  the  Spirit  that  they  may  rest  from  their  labors ; 
and  their  works  do  follow  them." 

"Servant  of  God,  well  done ! 

Rest  from  thy  loved  employ : 
The  battle  fought,  the  vict'ry  won. 
Enter  thy  Master's  joy. 

"The  voice  at  midnight  came ; 

He  started  up  to  hear : 
A  mortal  arrow  pierced  his  frame; 
He  fell,  but  felt  no  fear. 

"The  pains  of  death  are  past; 
Labor  and   sorrow  oease ; 
And  life's  long  warfare  closed  at  last. 
His  soul  is  found  in  peace. 

"Soldier  of  Christ!     Well  done! 
Praise  be  thy  new  employ ; 
And  while  eternal  ages  run. 
Rest  in  thy  Saviour's  joy." 


CHAPTER  XVI 

Autlinr  antJ  Prparl)pr 

His  Work  as  Official  Correspondent  and  Legal  Representative  of  the 
Mission — Private  Correspondence  with  Distinguished  Individuals 
— His  Missionary  Addresses — As  a  Preacher  in  the  Native  Lan- 
guage— As  a  Pastor. 

It  is  our  purpose  in  this  chapter  to  deal  with  the  scope 
of  Dr.  Morrison's  work  in  the  field  as  the  Official  Cor- 
respondent for  the  Mission  and  as  a  preacher  of  the  Gospel. 

Strictly  speaking,  we  can  not  call  him  an  author,  in  the 
sense  that  he  devoted  his  life  to  the  writing  of  books;  yet, 
at  the  same  time,  he  was  a  prolific  writer.  He  recognized 
the  necessity  of  keeping  the  church  at  home  informed  as 
to  the  conditions  on  the  field,  and  for  this  reason  he  was 
a  regular  contributor  to  the  "Missionary  Survey"  and  other 
church  papers.  In  order  to  further  this  idea  he  was  largely 
instrumental  in  the  founding  of  the  "Kasai  Herald,"  of 
which  he  was  the  editor  during  the  greater  part  of  its 
existence. 

During  the  period  of  the  agitation  of  the  Congo  reforms, 
Dr.  Morrison  was  a  frequent  contributor  to  the  leading 
newspapers  and  magazines  of  England  and  America.  We 
have  already  noted  the  influence  that  these  efTective  articles 
had  in  arousing  the  public  sentiment  of  the  two  great  Eng- 
lish-speaking countries. 

We  have  likewise  indicated  his  great  literary  work  in  the 
publication  of  the  Baluba  Grammar  and  Dictionary,  the 
Bible  paraphrases  and  translations  as  well  as  other  forms 
of  Christian  and  school  literature.  This  was  the  kind  of 
work  he  delighted  to  do.  It  was  nearer  to  his  heart  than 
anything  else.  And  yet,  in  all  his  twenty  years  of  service, 
he  was  probably  never  permitted  to  devote  as  much  as  one 


154  Twenty  Years  in  Africa 

uninterrupted  day  to  his  great  work.  The  greater  part  of 
his  time  was  given  over  to  the  official  correspondence  of  the 
Mission. 

We  have  made  numerous  references  to  the  fact  that  he 
served  as  Legal  Representative  of  the  Mission  during  his 
entire  service  on  the  field.  It  is  the  requirement  of  Belgian 
law  in  the  Congo  that  every  missionary  society  or  business 
organization  must  have  an  official  representative  to  attend 
to  all  matters  arising  between  them  and  the  State  Govern- 
ment. If  only  two  men  are  associated  in  business  one  of 
them  must  be  the  appointed  spokesman  and  the  other  one 
will  not  be  recognized  in  official  circles.  The  same  thing  is 
true  in  the  Mission ;  the  Legal  Representative  is  the  go- 
betw^een  in  all  matters  relating  to  the  State.  No  other 
member  of  the  Mission  is  recognized. 

In  our  Mission  the  Legal  Representative  is  elected  at 
the  regular  meeting  of  the  Mission  and  the  results  of  the 
election  must  be  reported  to  the  Governor-General  at 
Boma,  who  makes  an  official  record  and  notifies  the  one 
already  chosen  of  his  election.  The  duties  of  this  office 
are  multifarious  and  to  fill  it  with  credit  requires  great  tact 
and  an  unlimited  amount  of  patience.  The  Legal-  Repre- 
sentative must  receive  all  visitors  that  come  to  the  Mission 
and  return  all  official  calls.  He  must  conduct  all  the  cor- 
respondence with  the  local  officers  at  Luebo,  the  Governor- 
General  at  Boma,  the  Minister  of  the  Colony  and  the  King 
in  Brussels,  as  well  as  the  American  Consul  at  Boma,  when 
v/e  are  fortunate  enough  to  have  one. 

Owing  to  the  difficulties  that  arise  when  the  Mission 
endeavors  to  secure  a  tract  of  land  on  which  to  establish 
a  station,  it  would  be  impossible  to  estimate  the  number  of 
letters  that  Dr.  Morrison  wrote  on  this  subject  alone.  As 
a  general  rule,  it  has  taken  from  three  to  five  years  to 


William  McCutchan  Morrison  155 

secure  each  one  of  the  stations  we  are  now  occupying,  and 
each  required  a  prolonged  correspondence  with  the  lowest 
State  official  on  up  to  the  King,  and,  quite  frequently,  ended 
in  an  appeal  to  our  government  at  Washington.  To  say 
that  the  duties  of  this  office  were  at  times  exasperating 
would  be  expressing  it  rather  mildly.  All  sorts  of  flimsy 
excuses  are  offered  by  the  State  officials  as  reasons  why  the 
Mission  can  not  obtain  land.  For  instance,  wc  were  given 
the  temporary  right  to  occupy  one  station  and  began  v/^ork. 
After  the  houses  and  a  church  shed  had  been  built  and 
the  work  was  making  some  visible  progress,  one  of  these 
officials  suddenly  discovered  that  some  of  the  palm  trees 
on  the  concession  had  been  planted  by  the  grandfather  of 
one  of  the  natives,  and,  notwithstanding  the  place  had  been 
abandoned  for  many  years,  the  missionaries  were  given 
two  weeks  in  which  to  vacate.  This  is  merely  an  example 
of  the  kind  of  problems  that  Dr.  Morrison  had  to  face 
during  the  twenty  years  he  served  in  the  capacity  of  Legal 
Representative.  Truly,  patience  had  ample  opportunity  to 
have  her  perfect  work  with  him  under  such  trying  condi- 
tions as  these. 

We  are  now  familiar  with  the  part  that  Dr.  Morrison 
played  in  protesting  against  the  injustice  and  oppression 
of  the  State  Government,  which  phase  of  his  work  alone 
required  an  unlimited  amount  of  time  and  a  voluminous 
correspondence.  Perhaps  some  one  will  raise  the  question 
as  to  why  Dr.  Morrison  and  other  missionaries  should  at- 
tempt to  interfere  in  matters  belonging  purely  to  the  State 
Government.  Why  did  he  not  devote  himself  exclusively 
to  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel  and  let  the  State  look  after 
its  own  affairs?  This  is  a  fair  question  and  one  which  Dr. 
Morrison  himself  answered  in  a  paper  written  for  the  Mis- 
sion Conference  which  met  in  Leopoldville  in  1907,  under 


156  Twenty  Years  in  Africa 

the  title,  "Under  \Miat  Circumstances  Are  We  Justified  in 
Making  Public  the  Accounts  of  Atrocities  and  Other  Forms 
of  Injustice  Done  the  Natives?" 

We  will  cite  a  few  of  the  reasons  which  he  gave  for  the 
stand  he  took  with  reference  to  State  matters : 

"The  unfortunate  political  situation  which  has  grown  up 
here  in  the  Congo  State  as  a  result  of  the  doctrine  of  abso- 
lutism, which  the  Sovereign  has  arrogated  to  himself  and 
which  has  brought  about  one  of  the  most  iniquitous  anom- 
alies in  the  shape  of  the  government  which  modern  times 
have  witnessed,  has  placed  the  Protestant  missionaries  in 
an  embarrassing  position.  All  of  us — and  none  more 
strenuously  than  the  writer  of  this  paper — hold  to  the  gen- 
eral principle  of  non-interference  with  political  afifairs  in 
the  carrying  on  of  mission  work.  This  principle  can  be 
observed  to  the  letter  in  most  countries  in  \vhich  we,  as 
foreigners,  do  mission  work,  whether  the  people  are  ruled 
by  a  native  or  a  foreign  government,  but  here  in  Congo 
the  situation  is  unique.  The  government  itself  is  a  curious 
anomaly,  and  there  is  difference  of  opinion  even  as  to  its 
international  status. 

"In  view  of  the  fact  that  the  government  is  absolute, 
with  the  natives  having  no  voice  in  its  affairs ;  in  view  of 
the  fact  that  the  treaties  made  at  the  founding  of  the  State 
guarantee  to  them  certain  rights;  in  view  of  the  fact  that 
there  is  no  one  to  whom  they  can  successfully  appeal  for 
the  redress  of  their  wrongs ;  and  in  view  of  the  fact  that 
the  government  and  the  concessionary  companies  are  here 
purely  for  selfish  purposes — in  view  of  all  these  facts,  the 
Protestant  missionary  is  left  the  sole  sympathizer  of  the 
people,  the  only  one,  who,  from  a  sense  of  love  and  inter- 
est, can  be  expected  to  speak  and  act  in  their  behalf.  I 
purposely    say    Protestant    missionaries,    for   certainly    the 


William  McCutchan  Morrison  157 

well-known  sympathy  of  the  Romanists  with  the  govern- 
ment and,  in  some  sections,  with  the  concessionary  com- 
panies renders  them  unfit,  except  in  sporadic  cases,  either 
to  sympathize  with  the  native  or  to  protest  against  his 
wrongs. 

"This  being  the  case,  what  are  we  to  do  about  it?  Under 
what  circumstances  and  in  what  way  are  we  to  make  our 
appeal  and  show  our  protest  against  the  unjust  govern- 
mental system  which  we  see  throttling  the  millions  of 
natives  in  the  Congo  State,  stripping  their  country  of  its 
natural  products,  and  making  the  people  practically  slaves 
in  their  own  country? 

"We  shall  speak  first  of  the  circumstances  justifying  a 
public  appeal  and  protest.  This,  of  course,  is  a  very  broad 
question  and  one  about  which  there  is  room  for  difference 
of  opinion  in  some  cases ;  but  it  seems  that  here,  as  in  most 
other  questions,  a  conservative  middle  course  is  the  one  to 
follow.  On  the  one  hand,  we  need  not  be  constantly  re- 
porting minor  offences  against  justice,  nor,  on  the  other 
hand,  are  we,  in  view  of  our  position  as  sole  sympathizers 
of  the  people,  to  let  grave  and  systematic  injustices  against 
the  inalienable  right  of  the  people  to  life,  liberty  and  prop- 
erty go  unnoticed.  While,  on  the  one  hand,  we  admit  the 
abstract  right  of  the  government  to  tax  the  natives,  even 
without  giving  them  anything  in  the  way  of  schools  or 
other  utilities  in  return  for  the  taxes;  yet,  as  opportunity 
presents  itself,  we  must  not  pass  by  unnoticed  cases  of 
exorbitant  taxation  and  of  unjust  methods  in  the  collection 
of  the  tax.  And  here  I  am  using  the  word  tax  in  a  general 
sense  to  describe  the  whole  system  of  labor,  forced  military 
service,  forced  making  of  rubber  and  other  products, 
together  with  the  regular  payment  of  food  supplies,  etc. 
Some  of  the  greatest  legal  minds  afifirm  that  every  man  has 


158  Twenty  Years  in  Africa 

ail  inalienable  right  to  his  life,  his  liberty  and  his  property. 
This  is  a  right  which  is  above  all  government  and  man- 
made  decrees,  and  it  is  in  defence  of  these  primary  rights 
of  the  natives  that  we  must  raise  our  voices. 

"I  am  convinced  that  owing  to  the  futility  of  resistance 
and  the  dread  with  which  the  very  name  of  Bula  Matadi 
(the  State)  inspires  the  native,  even  under  our  own  eyes, 
to  suffer  wrongs  stoically  which  we  know  not  of,  they 
have  come  to  see  that  we  can  only  appeal  in  their  behalf — 
we  can  exercise  no  force.  And  this  leads  me  to  say  that, 
as  a  rule,  we  are  more  liable  to  err  in  keeping  silent  than 
in  protesting,  for  we  may  be  sure  that  for  every  case  which 
comes  to  our  attention  there  are  thousands  we  know  noth- 
ing of.  This  being  the  case,  I  believe  we  should  not  wait 
for  the  occurrence  of  the  grosser  and  more  shocking  forms 
of  outrage,  such  as  murder,  imprisonment  with  all  its  at- 
tendent  horrors,  mutilations,  etc. ;  but  we  should-  follow 
up  relentlessly  the  slower  and  more  refined  forms  of  injus- 
tice by  which  the  life  and  spirit  are  crushed  out  inch  by 
inch.  I  believe  that  as  the  native  becomes  more  and  more 
convinced  of  the  futility  of  resistance,  the  grosser  forms  of 
outrage  will  perhaps  become  less  frequent,  but  the  magni- 
tude of  suffering  and  wrong  borne  in  silence  will  greatly 
increase." 

He  declared  to  the  Conference  that  every  possible  means 
of  redress  should  be  exhausted  before  the  matter  was  pub- 
lished to  the  outside  world.  Then  when  it  became  neces- 
sary to  strike  they  would  be  prepared  to  strike  hard. 

In  conclusion,  he  added  these  words  by  way  of  an  appeal : 
"We  can  look  with  some  degree  of  complacency  upon 
Armenian  atrocities  and  the  Boxer  outrages  in  China,  be- 
cause the  governments  of  Turkey  and  China  came  into 
existence  without  the  consent  of  the  modern  Powers  and 


William  McCutchan  Morrison  159 

because  they  have  made  no  pubHc  and  official  protestations 
in  treaties  or  otherwise  of  justice  and  humanity  toward 
their  subjects,  but  the  position  in  the  Congo  State  is  entire- 
ly different.  Here  the  most  sacred  and  formal  treaties 
were  made;  the  Powers,  with  the  millions  of  people"  they 
represent,  have  been  openly  and  defiantly  deceived.  Are 
we  not  under  the  same  obligation  to  bring  these  facts  to  the 
knowledge  of  the  world  as  we  would  be  to  disclose  the  do- 
ings of  a  common  thief  or  thug?  If  a  brighter  day  ever 
comes  to  our  beloved  Congo,  it  must  come  through  God 
blessing  our  efforts." 

Not  only  did  Dr.  Morrison  serve  as  Legal  Representative 
of  the  Mission  and  conduct  the  correspondence  with  the 
government,  but  for  many  years  he  was  Chairman  of  the 
Ad  Interim  Committee  and  Official  Correspondent  for  the 
Mission.  This  involved  the  correspondence  between  the 
different  stations  and  also  between  the  Mission  and  the 
Executive  Committee  at  Nashville.  This  naturally  con- 
sumed a  large  part  of  his  time.  In  fact,  it  was  not  an 
uncommon  thing  for  him  to  spend  the  entire  night  writ- 
ing important  letters  to  the  Committee^  in  order  to  get  them 
off  on  the  steamer  the  following  day.  He  would  be  about 
his  usual  duties  the  next  day,  just  as  if  he  had  had  a  good 
night's  rest. 

In  addition  to  these  official  duties.  Dr.  Morrison  carried 
on  a  very  extensive  correspondence  with  a  great  number  of 
distinguished  private  individuals  who  were  interested  in 
the  Congo  situation.  Among  them  we  may  mention  Samuel 
Clemens  ("Mark  Twain"),  author  of  "Leopold's  Solilo- 
quy," Sir  Arthur  Conan  Doyle,  Sir  Harry  \\\  Johnston, 
Hon.  Emir  Vandervelde,  the  late  W.  T.  Stead,  the  late 
J.  Pierpont  Morgan  and  scores  of  others  equally  as  eminent. 

As  he  never  had  a  private  secretary,  he  had  to  write  all 
—6— 


i6o  Twenty  Years  in  Africa 

these  letters  with  his  own  hand.  The  reader  can  jud^-e 
for  himself  the  tremendous  amount  of  work  he  was  capable 
of  doing.  With  all  these  things  on  his  hands  it  is  nothing 
short  of  marvelous  that  he  found  any  time  to  devote  to 
Bible  translation  and  other  work  requiring  concentration 
of  thought  and  undivided  attention. 

In  connection  with  his  literary  work,  we  may  very  pro- 
perly consider  Dr.  Morrison  as  a  preacher  and  a  public 
speaker.  He  did  not  have  a  great  many  opportunities  to 
preach  in  English.  Services  are  conducted  in  the  Mission 
stations  in  English  on  Wednesday  and  Sunday  nights,  the 
missionaries  preaching  in  turn,  and  this  was  practically  the 
only  opportunity  afforded  him  of  preaching  in  his  mother 
tongue. 

In  spite  of  the  little  practice  he  had,  he  was  an  eloquent 
speaker  and  always  used  the  choicest  diction.  In  his  mis- 
sionary addresses  at  home  he  never  failed  to  make  a  pro- 
found impression.  The  most  striking  and  impressive  fea- 
ture of  these  addresses  was  his  deep  sincerity  and  the  hon- 
esty and  earnestness  of  his  faith.  He  put  his  whole  intel- 
lect into  the  preparation,  his  whole  heart  into  the  presenta- 
tion and  his  whole  life  into  the  illustration  of  these 
discourses;  and  such  preaching  as  this  can  not  fail  to  reach 
the  hearts  of  men.  The  expression  of  his  countenance  and 
his  clear,  rich  and  resonant  voice  convinced  his  hearers  that 
every  word  came  from  the  heart.  Their  hearts  were  stirred 
by  his  burning  words,  and  they  returned  to  their  homes 
with  a  new  zeal  for  God's  kingdom.  Words  spoken  out  of 
such  deep  earnestness  and  from  the  consecration  of  such 
a  life  do  not  perish;  they  live  on  in  the  minds  and  hearts 
of  men. 

The  greater  part  of  Dr.  Morrison's  preaching  was  done 
in  the  Baluba  language,  and  perhaps  he  shone  at  his  best 


William  McCutchan  Morrison  i6i 

when  speaking  to  the  native  people.  He  conducted  the 
sunrise  prayer  meetings  at  Luebo  and  sent  the  people  to 
their  daily  tasks  with  some  fresh  thought  from  the  Word 
of  God.  For  a  great  part  of  the  time  he  preached  five  times 
every  week  and  always  nourished  the  spiritual  life  of  the 
[)eople.  He  was  a  born  teacher,  and  every  sermon  he 
preached  was  full  of  practical  instruction  for  his  hearers. 
He  possessed  the  rare  faculty  of  being  able  to  explain  the 
[trofoundest  truths  in  the  simplest  language.  From  his 
constant  association  with  the  native  people  he  had  gathered 
a  vast  store  of  information  concerning  their  habits  and 
customs,  and  he  could  draw  the  most  striking  illustrations 
from  things  with  which  they  were  familiar.  The  native 
is  a  past  master  in  the  art  of  gesticulation,  and  it  is  almost 
possible  to  tell  what  one  is  saying  just  by  studying  his  facial 
expressions.  Dr.  Morrison  possessed  the  dramatic  art  to  a 
marked  degree,  and  he  mastered  these  native  gestures  and 
used  them  most  effectively.  One  rarely  sees  more  wonder- 
ful eyes  than  he  possessed.  They  could  sparkle  with  wit, 
burn  with  indignation,  or  be  as  soft  and  sympathetic  as  a 
woman's.  This  naturally  added  a  charm  and  vividness  to 
his  preaching  that  appealed  to  the  natives  in  a  peculiar 
manner. 

I  shall  never  forget  his  sermon  on  the  text,  'Tt  is  easier 
for  a  camel  to  go  through  the  eye  of  a  needle,  than  for  a 
rich  man  to  enter  the  kingdom  of  heaven."  After  giving 
them  the  usual  explanation  of  the  needle's  eye  and  after 
describing  in  a  very  vivid  manner  the  camel  with  a  great 
burden  on  his  back,  he  proceeded  to  illustrate  with  bodily 
contortions  the  inability  of  the  camel  to  negotiate  the  small 
opening  in  the  city  wall.  The  size  of  his  figure  added  much 
to  the  forcefulness  of  the  scene  and  a  broad  smile  covered 
the  face  of  every  native  present,  but  a  lasting  impression 


1 62 


Twenty  Years  in  Africa 


was  made  upon  them  as  he  drove  the  truth  oi  the  parable 
home  to  their  individual  lives. 

Dr.  Morrison  was  not  only  a  great  preacher,  but  he  was 
a  pastor  and  a  shepherd  in  every  sense  of  the  term.  His 
varied  activities  did  not  permit  him,  to  his  infinite  regret, 
to  devote  a  great  deal  of  his  time  to  pastoral  work,  yet 
somehow  he  managed  to  find  time  to  visit  the  native  Chris- 
tians in  their  homes.  He  endeavored  to  set  aside  the  clos- 
ing hour  of  each  day  to  visit  them  in  their  homes.  He 
was  a  personal  worker,  full  of  burning  zeal  for  the  salva- 
tion of  the  lost.  While  he  could  not  mingle  with  them  as 
much  as  he  liked,  and  frequently  weeks  would  pass  before 
he  had  an  opportunity  to  get  out  among  the  people,  yet 
when  anyone  was  in  sorrow  or  affliction  he  was  never  too 
busy  to  go  to  that  home  to  speak  words  of  comfort.  One 
night  during  the  Conference  at  Luebo  a  severe  storm  came 
up ;  the  lightning  struck  a  house,  killing  two  of  the  inmates. 
It  was  just  at  the  hour  when. the  evening  session  was  to 
convene,  and  Dr.  Morrison,  as  President,  must  be  on  hand 
to  preside.  But  as  soon  as  he  learned  of  this  double 
tragedy,  he  slipped  out  of  the  house  and  made  his  way  out 
in  the  darkness  and  rain  to  this  miserable  little  hut  to  com- 
fort the  stricken  relatives.  The  native  people  ever  held  the 
first  place  in  his  great  loving  and  compassionate  heart. 


"i 

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CHAPTER  XVII 

Ifootiottal  ICifp 

N  -cessity  for  Living  Close  to  God  in  Mission  Work — His  Life  ot 
Constant  Prayer — Outline  of  His  Morning  Devotions — Influence 
of  Prayer  in  His  Work. 

Someone  has  well  said,  "Take  care  of  the  springs  of 
your  sacred  life  and  you  need  have  no  fear  of  your  public 
life."  The  Apostle  Paul  voices  the  same  truth  in  his  ad- 
vice to  young  Timothy,  "Take  heed  unto  thyself  and  unto 
the  doctrine,  continue  in  them ;  for  in  so  doing  thou  shalt 
both  save  thyself  and  them  that  hear  thee."  The  great 
apostle  places  life  above  doctrine  and  character  above 
dogma.  He  was  a  missionary  himself  and  spoke  from  his 
own  experience  when  he  said,  "Ye  are  living  epistles  known 
and  read  of  all  men."  He  means  that  the  Christian  life, 
and  especially  the  life  lived  by  its  ministers,  is  an  open  book 
which  is  constantly  subject  to  the  perusal  and  criticism  of 
the  men  of  the  world.  If  a  man's  life  can  not  stand  the 
closest  and  the  minutest  examination,  if  flaws  and  defects 
are  found  in  it,  he  may  be  sure  that  the  doctrine  he 
preaches  will  not  be  any  more  attractive  than  the  life  he 
lives.  This  is  especially  true  in  Africa  among  the  simple 
sons  of  nature.  Thousands  of  them  do  not  yet  know  a  let- 
ter of  the  alphabet  and  can  not  read  a  word  of  their  own 
language,  but  they  can  all  read  the  open  book  of  human 
character.  The  fundamental  doctrines  of  Christianity  are 
so  sublime  and  its  truths  so  utterly  foreign  to  anything  that 
the  heathen  world  has  ever  known  before,  that  we  can  not 
expect  the  mere  proclamation  of  these  incomprehensible 
truths  to  effect  a  speedy  transformation  in  their  lives.  So, 
then,  the  missionary  must  endeavor  to  live  among  them  a 


164  Twenty  Years  in  Africa 

life  that  will  attract  their  attention  and  make  them  see  that 
the  principles  that  govern  and  dominate  Christian  conduct 
are  the  principles  they  need  to  transform  their  own  lives. 
He  must  make  them  see  that  there  is  a  secre*  behind  th.e 
life  he  lives,  and  that  that  secret  is  due  to  som.ething  out- 
side of  himself. 

This  is  undoubtedly  the  kind  of  life  that  Dr.  Morrison 
lived  among  the  people  with  whom  he  came  into  daily  con- 
tact. He  guarded  the  springs  of  his  spiritual  life  with  a 
sacred  devotion. 

It  was  his  custom  to  rise  every  morning  at  4:30,  spending 
a  few  moments  in  physical  exercise,  and  then  to  devote  the 
hour  from  5  to  6  in  studying  God's  word  and  in  prayer 
and  meditation.  It  did  not  matter  how  late  he  worked  at 
night,  he  always  kept  this  hour  sacred.  Many  times,  under 
the  great  pressure  of  work,  he  did  not  close  his  eyes  at 
night,  but  he  never  neglected  the  morning  watch.  A  very 
distinguished  minister  told  me  that  he  had  occasion  to 
spend  the  night  with  Dr.  Morrison  while  at  home  on  one 
of  his  furloughs.  They  were  in  a  small  town  in  midwinter 
and  it  was  bitterly  cold.  He  woke  up  very  early  the  next 
morning,  before  daylight,  and  to  his  surprise  he  found  that 
Dr.  Morrison  was  not  in  bed  with  him.  As  soon  as  his 
eyes  became  somewhat  accustomed  to  the  darkness,  he  saw 
Morrison  kneeling  by  a  chair,  wrapped  in  a  blanket,  pour- 
ing out  his  heart  in  prayer  to  God.  That  scene  made  a 
profound  impression  on  this  man  and  he  resolved  that  he 
would  devote  more  of  his  time  to  private  worship. 

Bishop  Lambuth,  who  traveled  thousands  of  miles  with 
Dr.  Morrison,  after  spending  weeks  in  the  most  intimate 
association  with  him,  gives  us  the  secret  of  his  great  life 
as  he  saw  it.  He  says:  "The  springs  of  that  life  were  hid- 
den in  the  depths  of  a  conscious  realization  of  the  presence 


William  McCutciian  Morrison  165 

of  God.  An  inner  light  shone  unmistakably  as  new  forces 
were  released  during  those  hours  given  to  intercession. 
There  is  a  picture  before  me  of  a  candle  burning  an  hour 
before  day  every  morning  in  an  humble  home  at  Luebo. 
Was  it  the  lingering  glow  of  its  Ught,  or  the  glory  and  illu- 
minating power  of  God's  \Vord,  that  gave  Morrison's  face, 
at  times,  its  strange  attractiveness,  and  his  life  the  strength 
for  the  exacting  duties  before  him  Five  times,  at  least, 
in  one  day  I  have  found  him  at  prayer.  The  morning 
watch,  the  sunrise  prayer  meeting  in  the  great  church  shed, 
the  early  devotions  with  the  sons  of  chiefs  within  his  fence,* 
the  prayer  with  the  workers  whom  he  taught  in  the  after- 
noon, and  then  at  the  gathering  of  missionaries  that  eve- 
ning. He  did  not  realize  it,  but  he  was  keeping  the  soul  of 
religion  alive  in  the  Mission  and  in  the  native  church." 

In  these  early  morning  devotions  Dr.  Morrison  made  his 
own  private  prayer  calendar,  which  is  reproduced  herewith 
in  full,  as  it  speaks  for  itself  more  eloquently  than  could 
any  words  of  mine. 

Thought  Preparation  for  Prayer. 

1.  The  greatest  work  we  do  is  when  we  pray. 

2.  Speak  a  silent  word  to  God,  Who  is  ever  at  your  side,  at  the 
approach  of  every  problem,  task,  or  temptation ;  in  fact,  learn  to 
practice  the  fact  of  God's  eternal  presence. 

3.  Before  Bible  reading  ask  God,  in  Christ's  name,  through  the 
Holy  Spirit,  to  give  me  just  the  word  that  will  fit  me  for  living  and 
serving  for  the  day. 

4.  Repeat  daily,  "Fear  not ;  for  I  am  with  thee ;  be  not  dismayed : 
for  I  am  thy  God :  I  will  strengthen  thee ;  yes,  I  will  help  thee ;  yea. 


♦Children  sent  from  Congo  villages  to  the  mission  stations  to 
be  educated,  live  in  native  houses  "within  the  fence"  around  the 
home  of  the  missionary  under  whose  personal  care  they  are.  The 
training  and  welfare  of  these  children  is  ever,  to  the  missionary,  a 
matter  of  affectionate  solicitude. — Editors. 


i66  Twenty  Years  in  Africa 

I  will  uphold  thee  with  the  right  hand  of  my  righteousness."     Isa. 
41  :  10. 

Some  CoxniTioxs  of  Prevailing  Pr.\yer. 

1.  In   Christ's   name.     Jno.    14:13. 

2.  Under  the  Holy  Spirit's  guidance.    Jude  20. 

3.  In  faith.     Matt.  31  :  22. 

4.  Without  harboring  sin.     Ps.  66 :  18.     1  Pet.  3  :  7. 

5.  Be  specific.    Phil.  4 :  6. 

6.  Pray,  then  work.    Ex.  14:  15.     Tno.  15:  16. 

7.  For  God's  glory,  not  mine.  Jas.  4:3.  Prayer  of  faith  always 
answered. 

8.  Prayerful  attitude.     1   Thess.  5  :  17. 

9.  With  charity  and  forgiveness.     Matt.  6:14.  15. 

10.  Abiding  in  Christ  and  His  Words  in  me.    Jno.  15:7. 

11.  \\lien  to  persevere  and  when  not.  Luke  11:8.  9.  2  Cor. 
12:7-9. 

12.  United  prayer.     Matt.  18:1^. 

13.  We  can  bring  t'X'i'rytbiuij  to  God  in  prayer.     Phil.  4:6. 

A.  Praise  and  adoration — a  vision  of  God. 

1.  That  I  may  know  Him  and  hear  Him  speak. 

2.  That  I  may  listen  and  obey. 

B.  Confession  and  forgiveness. 

1.  General. 

2.  Particular. 

C.  Thanksgiving. 

1.  Ger.eral.     Eph.  5:20. 

2.  Particular.     (Especially  for  petitions  answered.') 

D.  Bible  Thoughts  for  the  day. 

1.  Deeper  insight. 

2.  MoVe  joy  in  Bible  reading  and  in  prayer. 

EL  Indwelling  of  and  surrender  to  the  Holy  Spirit. 
F.  Petitions.     (^For  special  petitions,  «ee  separate  hst.) 

Persox.vl. 

1.  Peace:  Peace  of  Jesus  Christ.  Jno.  14.  Rolling  the  burdens 
on  God.  Calmness  under  all  conditions.  Peace  of  faith ;  not  of 
indifference, 

2.  Power :  To  overcome  sin.  To  grow  in  grace.  To  be,  do. 
think,  and  speak  the  absolute  right — the  mind  and  will  of  Christ. 


William  McCutchan  Morrison  167 

To  subdue  my  will  to  God's.  To  accomplish  my  work — overcome 
laziness.  To  be  a  comfort  and  blessing  to  others.  To  make  prog- 
ress with  propaganda. 

3.  Holiness :  That  all  the  graces  of  the  Spirit  may  abound  in  me — 
love,  joy,  patience,  purity,  truth,  hope,  faith,  gentleness,  kindness, 
thoughtfulncss,  forbearance,  humility,  self-control,  speaking  always 
in  lov«  and  yet  with  boldness  when  necessary,  not  speaking  evil  or 
misjudging,  not  too  much  levity,  faithfulness  (industry)  in  not 
wasting  time. 

4.  Wisdom :  What  to  pray  for.  What  to  say,  do,  and  think 
to-day.  In  my  peculiar  position.  In  planning  and  managing.  For 
new  and  improved  ideas.  For  quick,  yet  unerring  decision ;  not 
wasting  time  here.     Following  God,  not  going  before  Him. 

5.  Holy  yearning  for  souls:  Shepherding,  comforting,  teaching, 
warning  believers,  with  special  thoughtfulncss  for  those  in  trouble. 
Seeking  the  unsaved. 

6.  Watching  and  praying  for  Christ's  coming. 

7.  Progress  and  help  in  translation  and  other  literary  work. 

8.  Physical  strength. 

For  Others. 

1.  The  Church  of  Christ:  Here  on  our  Mission.  In  the  Congo, 
especially  the  Methodists.  Our  Southern  Presbyterian  Church.  The 
Church  HniversaJ. 

2.  Heathen  and  unsaved  everywhere  (mention  by  name  any  spe- 
cial field  needing  prayer). 

3.  Prayer  calendars.     Here  on  our  Mission.     From  Nashville. 

4.  The  Executive  Committee  and  Secretaries. 

5.  The  First  Church  in  Little  Rock,  Ark. 

6.  Personal   friends.     Relatives.     Friends    (see  special  list). 

7.  Our  agents  along  the  way. 

8.  The  State,  the  Roman  Catholics,  traders. 

9.  Our  home  country.  The  President  and  his  Cabinet.  Congress. 
Wisdom  in  the  Great  War  and  in  dealing  with  Mexico  and  Japan, 
etc. 

10.  Our  African  Missions. 

In  addition  to  this  he  kept  these  special  Hsts,  referred  to 
above,  but  they  were  too  private  and  sacred  for  publication. 


i68  Twenty  Years  in  Africa 

One  of  these  lists  alone  contained  over  twenty-five  hundred 
special  petitions.  He  brought  every  problem  of  the  Mis- 
sion, the  faults  and  failures  of  his  friends  and  his  hopes 
and  aspirations  for  the  native  church,  daily  before  the 
throne  of  grace. 

It  is  no  wonder,  then,  that  the  life  of  this  man  was  so 
far-reaching  in  its  influence;  he  was  willing"  to  pay  the 
price  of  holiness.  If  we  marvel  at  that  wonderful  courage 
that  enabled  him  to  stand  out  almost  alone  and  protest 
against  the  oppression  of  the  native  people,  we  find  that  its 
source  is  his  absolute  faith  in  the  promises  of  God,  "Fear 
not,  for  I  am  with  thee." 

Perhaps  we  should  not  invade  the  sacred  domain  of  his 
prayers  by  commenting  on  them,  and  we  make  a  brief  ref- 
erence to  them  only  in  the  deepest  sense  of  reverence.  He 
never  offered  a  prayer  in  any  mere  perfunctory  manner. 
Prayer-  was  a  sacred  privilege  to  him ;  he  was  utterly  uncon- 
scious of  his  audience  and  offered  his  petitions  as  one 
standing  in  the  very  presence  of  God.  His  prayers  always 
made  a  profound  impression  on  us  and  made  us  feel  that 
we  were  drawn  nearer  to  God.  His  faith  in  God  was  so 
strong  and  yet  so  simple  that  he  approached  Him  with  the 
confidence  of  a  child  coming  into  the  presence  of  an  earth- 
ly father. 

We  can  not  conclude  this  chapter  without  again  calling 
attention  to  the  great  part  that  prayer  played  in  the  life 
of  Dr.  Morrison.  A  few  years  ago  President  Wilson 
touched  a  button  in  his  office  and  a  great  upheaval  took 
place  in  the  Panama  Canal,  the  last  barrier  between  two 
mighty  oceans  was  removed  and  their  waters  mingled 
together.  So  prayer  accomplished  things  in  the  life  of 
Dr.  Morrison  far  beyond  the  reach  of  human  eyes.  Think 
of  the  influences  that  were  released  when  those  little  girls 


William  McCutchan  Morrison  169 

in  Louisville  prayed  that  he  might  answer  the  call  from 
Darkest  Africa.  Think  of  the  honor  our  Lord  places  upon 
prayer  and  the  proof  that  He  will  hear  and  answer  it  when 
He  says,  "Pray  ye  therefore  the  Lord  of  the  harvest  that 
He  would  send  forth  laborers  into  His  harvest." 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

Estimate  of  His  Character  and  Influence — Testimonies  by  Personal 
Friends — Conclusion. 

The  greatest  contribution  that  Dr.  Morrison  made  to 
the  modern  missionary  enterprise  was  his  personaHty.  Mere 
words  are  inadequate  to  portray  the  grandeur  of  his  char- 
acter. The  streams  of  influence  that  issued  from  his  Hfe 
can  not  yet  be  fathomed,  because  they  will  flow  on  forever. 
The  record  of  his  life,  as  portrayed  in  this  imperfect  story, 
is  the  index  to  his  character. 

When  Columbus  and  his  little  band  of  faithful  followers 
had  braved  the  perils  of  the  great  deep  and  were  drawing 
nearer  to  the  shores  of  an  unknown  land,  they  came  one 
day  into  the  mouth  of  the  Orinoco  River.  One  of  the  men 
in  that  little  group,  upon  observing  the  fact  that  they  were 
saiHng  in  fresh  water,  ventured  the  remark  that  they  must 
be  drawing  near  to  an  island.  The  great  navigator,  ob- 
serving the  volume  of  the  powerful  current,  replied  with 
scorn,  "The  waters  of  that  mighty  stream  drain  a  conti- 
nent!" It  does  not  take  the  trained  eye  of  a  Columbus  to 
observe  the  fact  that  the  mighty  current  of  Dr.  Morrison's 
life  and  the  unfathomable  depths  of  his  influence  issued 
from  a  great  personality  lost  in  Christ. 

There  was  a  magnetism  about  him  that  drew  men  in 
every  walk  of  life  to  him.  Those  who  knew  him  best,  from 
the  great  religious  leaders  on  down  to  the  humblest  native, 
bear  universal  and  unstinted  praise  to  the  greatness  of  the 
man. 

Let  us  hear  the  testimony  of  some  of  these  men  as  to  the 
impression  the  personality  of  Dr.  Morrison  made  upon 
them. 


172  Twenty  Years  in  Africa 

Dr.  J.  du  Plissis,  whom  we  have  already  quoted,  in  re- 
ferring to  Dr.  Morrison's  character,  remarks :  "He  seemed 
to  me  to  be  one  of  those  rare  spirits,  who  have  in  their 
moral  composition  the  stuff  that  goes  to  the  formation  of 
abiding  friendships.  He  possessed  sympathy,  that  choicest 
of  all  virtues,  that  marks  the  Christian  and  the  gentleman, 
and  that  is  the  imperishable  cement  of  all  friendships 
worthy  of  the  name.  The  light  of  friendship  beaconed  in 
his  eye,  partly  revealing,  partly  concealing,  the  depths  be- 
neath— the  calm,  unhastening,  unresting  character,  the 
kindly  yet  strenuous  disposition,  the  resolute  will.  In  your 
intercourse  with  him  you  were  conscious  of  having  to  do 
with  a  strong  man,  whose  best  qualities  did  not  lie  upon 
the  surface,  but  who  commanded  hidden  resources  of  cour- 
age, strength  and  endurance.  And  though  this  is  a  matter 
on  which  others  are  much  more  competent  to  speak  than  1 
am,  it  would  seem  as  though  he  must  have  been  a  man  of 
much  prayer  and  habitual  intercourse  with  heaven,  for  his 
life  was  very  evidently  nourished  from  those  hidden  springs 
which  lie  among  remote  and  lonely  hills." 

Bishop  Lambuth,  than  whom  there  is  none  more  compe- 
tent to  speak,  says  of  him:  "The  chief  characteristics  of 
this  great  leader  of  the  Congo  Mission  of  the  Southern 
Presbyterian  Church,  were  those  of  magnificent  courage, 
tender-heartedness,  rare  tact  in  dealing  with  savage  tribes, 
genuine  love  for  the  native,  sound  judgment,  tireless  ener- 
gy, a  prayer  life  of  power  and  deathless  devotion  and 
loyalty  to  Christ.  Does  this  seem  overdrawn?  It  is  the 
result  of  personal  observation  after  traveling  thousands  of 
miles  with  him  and  spending  weeks  in  most  intimate  asso- 
ciation at  Luebo. 

"It  was  said  of  Columbus,  by  one  of  his  own  country- 
men, 'The  instinct  of  an  unknown  continent  burned  within 


William  McCutchan  Morrison  173 

him.'  The  pioneer  spirit  was  largely  developed  in  Mor- 
rison, but  it  did  not  fall  to  his  lot  to  explore  the  vast  areas 
about  him.  It  was  rather  the  less  known  region  of  the 
African's  own  tropical  life  and  thought  which  concerned 
him  most.  Like  David  Livingstone,  he  believed  in  his 
capacity  for  higher  things.  He  measured  the  native  by 
the  best  that  was  in  him,  not  by  the  worst.  For  the  redemp- 
tion of  Africa  he  was  willing  to  die.  The  love  of  the 
unsaved,  but  redeemable  race,  fired  his  soul." 

Rev.  L.  Foster  Wood,  of  the  American  Baptist  Foreign 
Missionary  Society,  says :  "Dr.  Morrison  brought  back  to 
our  minds  the  words  of  Jesus,  'The  zeal  of  thy  house  hath 
eaten  me  up.'  He  was  a  man  who  had  a  consuming  interest 
in  God's  work.  Nothing  that  concerned  the  people  of  this 
country^  (Africa)  escaped  his  notice  or  failed  to  draw  out 
his  interest.  At  the  Conference  at  Luebo  I  marvelled  to 
notice  that  when  the  rest  of  us  were  tired  he  was  still 
engrossed  by  the  interest  of  the  business  in  hand.  The 
concern  of  God's  kingdom  and  of  God's  little  children  had 
so  become  a  part  of  himself  that  he  seemed  at  home,  no 
matter  where  the  discussion  might  lead. 

"He  gave  himself.  His  work  had  a  strong  flavor  of 
humanness  and  manhood  about  it.  Here  was  a  man  seeing 
through  the  accident  of  color  and  trying  to  help  the  Afri- 
cans as  fellowmen  and  helping  thousands  of  them  as  fellow 
Christians.  There  was  no  professionalism  about  him.  Not 
a  teacher,  not  a  preacher,  not  a  missionary ;  but  a  man 
teaching,  a  man  preaching,  a  man  with  a  mission  from  God ; 
that,  I  think,  is  the  impression  Dr.  Morrison  made  and  left. 
You  had  the  feeling  that  he  was  a  manly  man  before  it 
occurred  to  you  that  he  was  teaching  or  preaching  or  dis- 
cussing some  phase  of  missionary  work.  Because  of  this 
quality,  it  came  about  that  he  was  able  to  reach  beneath  the 


174  Twenty  Years  in  Africa 

surface  and  feel  for  and  bring  out  the  best  that  was  in  men 
and  to  find  in  them  something  that  was  worth  trusting.  In 
this  way  he  was  a  teacher  and  preacher  and  a  missionary 
in  the  highest  sense. 

"When  he  went  it  seemed  as  if  he  had  left  a  great  work 
still  to  do,  as  if  he  were  just  on  the  threshold  of  a  wider 
usefulness.  As  President  of  the  General  Conference  it 
appeared  inevitable  that  the  quickening  impulse  of  his  vigor 
was  to  be  more  widely  felt  in  Congo  missions  than  ever  be- 
fore. He  was  planning  to  visit  the  various  parts  of  the 
whole  Congo  field,  and  many  of  us  had  the  highest  hopes 
and  expectations  as  to  the  results  of  these  proposed  visits 
to  the  stations  of  other  societies  and  the  regions  occupied 
by  other  missions.  Such  a  man  might  well  have  done  much 
to  make  and  strengthen  a  united  front  for  all  our  mission 
work  in  this  part  of  Africa.  This  is  what  we  greatly  need, 
and  he  saw  the  need  of  the  hour.  Who  so  well  as  he  would 
have  been  able  to  make  this  high  ideal  a  reality?  He  was 
bound  to  be  largely  helpful  and  sitmulating  because  he  was 
so  deeply  interested  and  so  broadly  sympathetic.  All  this 
work  must  now  be  taken  up  by  others. 

"But  as  for  the  worker  to  whom  we  would  have  been 
so  glad  to  entrust  it,  we  rejoice  in  the  great  good  that  he 
accomplished  while  he  was  yet  with  us,  and  we  ponder  the 
meaning  of  such  a  career, 

'Until  we  doubt  not  that  for  one  so  true, 
There  must  be  other  nobler  work  to  do.' " 

Mr.  Robert  Whyte,  who  knew  him  intimately  for  over 
twenty  years,  says :  "Associated  with  him,  as  it  was  my 
privilege  to  be,  in  his  brave  struggle  against  the  tyranny 
of  King  Leopold,  I  had  a  great  admiration  of  his  ability, 
his   dauntless  courage,  and  his  indomitable   perseverance. 


William  McCutchan  Morrison  175 

His  Christian  character  shone  through  all  he  said  and  did 
and  raised  it  to  a  very  high  level.  His  name  will  remain 
as  that  of  a  hero  as  long  as  the  story  of  the  Congo  is  told." 

The  members  of  the  Methodist  Mission  at  Wembo 
Niama  expressed  their  esteem  and  affection  for  him  in  the 
following  resolutions  that  were  passed  at  the  time  of  his 
death : 

"Whereas,  in  the  Providence  of  Almighty  God,  Dr.  W. 
M.  Morrison,  our  beloved  brother  and  co-laborer  in  His 
work,  on  March  14,  1918,  departed  this  life  for  the  life 
above;  and 

"Whereas,  Dr.  Morrison,  by  his  prayers  and  labors  and 
his  love  for  Christ  in  the  extension  of  His  kingdom,  was 
largely  instrumental  in  bringing  about  the  founding  of  this 
Mission;  and 

"Whereas,  we,  the  members  of  this  Mission,  recognizing 
the  love  he  bore  for  this  work  as  well  as  the  individuals 
themselves  and  deeply  conscious  of  the  great  service  he 
has  rendered  them,  desire  to  express  in  some  slight  manner 
the  affection  in  which  he  was  held,  and,  at  the  same  time, 
to  testify  to  the  high  order  of  devotion  which  he  unsparing- 
ly rendered  both  in  the  interests  of  his  own  and  of  this 
Mission  as  well  as  the  general  cause  of  missions  in  the 
Congo;  therefore  be  it 

"Resolved:  That,  bowing  as  we  humbly  do  to  the  wisdom 
and  will  of  our  Heavenly  Father,  who  in  His  own  good 
time  calls  His  servants  home,  we  give  this  expression  of 
the  sorrow  we  feel  so  keenly  over  the  death  of  our  friend 
and  brother;  and,  realizing  the  great  loss  to  th  A.  P.  C. 
M.  and  the  sorrow  which  has  come  into  the  lives  of  the 
members  of  that  Mission,  we  offer  them  our  heartfelt  love 
and  sympathy." 

Rev.  Alfred  Stonelake,  of  the  English  Baptist  Mission- 


176  Twenty  Years  in  Africa 

ary  Society,  one  of  the  moving  spirits  in  the  Conference, 
says :  "How  grateful  we  are  that  it  was  our  privilege  to 
see  Dr.  Morrison  in  your  midst.  We  had  met  him  at  times 
here  at  Stanley  Pool  and  felt  that  he  was  a  strong  man 
and  a  born  leader.  We  knew  of  his  fights  for  righteousness 
and  rejoiced  that  you  had  one  so  capable  and  willing  to 
spend  and  be  spent,  and  even  suffer  reproach  for  the  sake 
of  the  Name.  But  we  had  to  come  to  Luebo  to  see  the 
real  Dr.  Morrison,  so  loved  and  so  lovely  in  his  dealings 
with  one  and  all.  Your  absolute  love  for  and  devotion  to 
him  was  one  of  the  sweetest  memories  we  carried  away 
from  the  Conference.  And  as  he  stood  before  us,  a  peer 
among  men,  we  were  inspired  by  his  gracious  words  and 
uplifted  by  his  lofty  ideals  and  led  on  to  helpful  decisions 
by  the  clear  vision  and  enthusiasm  with  which  he  was 
endowed.  Dr.  Morrison  has  set  us  all  an  example  which 
we  shall  feel  his  death  is  a  loud  call  to  copy." 

Rev.  A.  F.  Hensy,  of  the  Disciples  of  Christ  Congo  Mis- 
sion, the  retiring  President  of  the  Conference,  says:  "From 
my  communication  with  Dr.  Morrison  some  very  deep 
impressions  abide  with  me.  Among  these,  two  stand  out 
especially  in  my  memory  as  I  write  this  tribute  to  our  de- 
parted leader. 

"The  first  of  these  was  the  calm  assurance  of  his  soul 
that  in  the  plan  of  the  Father,  things  were  going  to  come 
out  right.  And  he,  in  the  closing  days  of  his  life,  sorely 
needed  that  assurance.  He  knew  the  Church  of  Rome  and 
sensed  its  soul  as  few  of  our  leaders  have,  but  of  it  he 
scorned  to  be  afraid.  He  was  frankly  anxious  regarding 
certain  conditions  in  the  Kasai  region,  but  it  was  the  anxie- 
ty of  the  moment  and  not  any  questioning  regarding  the 
long  future  of  God's  kingdom. 

"The  other  impression  was  the  gentleness  of  his  soul. 


William  McCutchan  Morrison  177 

He  was  the  defender  of  the  faith  of  whom  the  Congo 
Church  has  a  right  to  be  proud,  and  of  the  poor  and  down- 
trodden, a  mighty  friend,  but  he  went  into  battle  in  confi- 
dence with  weapons  not  of  this  world.  As  one  watched 
him  with  his  children  in  the  gospel  and  realized  the  tender 
love  between  him  and  them,  it  is  easy  to  see  how  much  he 
relied  on  the  efficacy  of  gentleness. 

"Because  of  these  qualities,  among  many  others,  I  felt 
that  he  was  to  be  more  and  more  a  real  champion  of  our 
common  Protestantism.  In  him  were  blended  in  unusual 
measure  the  strength  of  faith  and  the  gentleness  of  love." 

Perhaps  the  most  touching  tribute  paid  to  liim  by  the 
native  people  was  the  silent  tribute  of  an  old  woman  on  the 
day  of  his  burial.  After  the  great  throng  had  departed  for 
their  homes  and  as  the  evening  shadows  were  deepening 
into  night,  this  poor  woman,  whom  he  had  doubtless  be- 
friended many  times,  lingered  behind  and  creeping  gently  to 
the  grave  on  her  hands  and  knees  laid  a  few  withered 
flowers  on  his  last  resting  place.  The  act  of  this  humble 
woman  expressed  the  reverence  and  esteem  in  which  the 
native  people  held  their  departed  friend,  who  had  a  "white 
skin,  but  a  native  heart." 

Dr.  Chester,  in  behalf  of  the  Executive  Committee  of 
Foreign  Missions,  pays  the  following  tribute  to  Dr.  Mor- 
rison :  "We  believe  there  would  be  universal  agreement  in 
the  statement  that  Dr.  Morrison  was  the  greatest  of  mod- 
ern missionaries  in  Africa,  ranking  with  Livingstone  and 
Mofifatt  and  McKay  of  Uganda  in  ability  and  consecration 
and  in  the  scope  and  influence  of  his  work." 

And  what  shall  we  say  of  him  in  behalf  of  the  members 
of  the  Mission?  We  thank  God  upon  every  remembrance 
of  him.  For  over  twenty  years  he  was  the  central  figure 
in  the  Mission  and  his  was  the  guiding  hand.     He  was  a 


178  Twenty  Years  in  Africa 

father  to  us  all,  one  to  whom  we  could  look  for  comfort 
and  advice.  Because  of  our  affection  for  him  and  our  con- 
fidence in  him,  we  could  safely  entrust  to  him  the  balance 
of  power  in  determining  the  policies  of  the  Mission.  The 
great  work  that  God  has  wrought  in  that  Mission  to-day 
has  been  largely  accomplished  through  his  unusual  talents 
consecrated  to  the  cause  of  Christ.  We  can  not  think  of 
him  as  dead,  but  as  one  gone  on  furlough  and  that  he 
awaits  us  in  the  Heavenly  home  when  the  time  of  our  last 
furlough  comes.  For  we  know  that  he  lives — lives  in  the 
hearts  of  thousands  who  cherish  his  memory ;  lives  in  the 
lives  transformed  by  the  Divine  touch  through  his  labors, 
lives  in  the  Living  Word  which  he  translated  for  more  than 
two  millions  of  people;  for  him  to  live  was  Christ,  the 
power  of  an  endless  life. 


APPENDIX  A 
of  tl|e  (Eongo  3ln^^pf  nJient  ^tat? 

Address  of  Dr.  W.  M.  Morrison  before  the  Boston  Peace  Congress 
October,  1904 

My  reason  for  appearing  before  you  to-day  to  address 
you  on  this  subject  is  the  fact  that  for  seven  years  I  have 
been  a  resident  of  the  Congo  State  in  one  of  the  interior 
districts  and  have  enjoyed  exceptional  advantages  for  ob- 
serving the  operation  of  the  Government  in  its  policy  to- 
wards and  treatment  of  the  native  people.  In  the  name  of 
an  oppressed  people  who  cannot  speak  for  themselves,  I 
have  the  honor  to  plead  their  cause  before  you. 

It  is  scarcely  necessary  for  me  to  narrate  to  you,  even  in 
a  brief  way,  the  early  history  of  the  founding  of  the  Congo 
State  by  His  Majesty,  Leopold  II,  King  of  the  Belgians, 
and  the  so-called  International  Association,  of  which  His 
Majesty  was  the  head;  nor  is  it  necessary  to  recount  the 
devious  ways  by  which  King  Leopold  finally  secured,  first 
from  the  United  States  and  later  from  other  Powers,  a 
certain  undefined  recognition  of  the  new  Utopian  State 
which  he  proposed  to  found  and  operate  in  Africa,  the 
grounds  for  such  recognition  being  based  on  the  assertion 
of  His  Majesty  that  the  foundation  stone  of  the  new  State, 
its  raison  d'etre,  was  to  be  the  "moral  and  material  regen- 
eration of  the  native  peoples"  in  the  great  Congo  Basin. 
At  the  Conference  in  1884,  in  which  all  the  great  civilized 
nations  were  represented,  an  international  status,  more  or 
less  undefined,  was  given  to  this  new  African  State,  and 
the  General  Acts  of  the  Conference  of  Berlin  and  the  sub- 
sequent General  Act  of  Brussels  contain  certain  very  defi- 


i8o  Twenty  Years  in  Africa 

nite  treaty  stipulations,  by  which  the  rights  of  natives  and 
foreigners  alike  were  to  be  guarded  and  protected. 

The  Congo  Free  State,  with  King  Leopold  as  absolute 
sovereign,  has  been  in  operation  for  twenty  years,  and  this 
has  given  time  to  demonstrate  whether  or  not  the  liberal 
promises  made  by  His  Majesty  in  1884  have  been  fulfilled. 
This  has  also  given  time  enough  for  the  Powers  to  know 
whether  or  not  the  stipulations  of  the  Treaties  of  Berlin 
and  Brussels  have  been  carried  out.  This  is  a  question 
which  is  very  proper  and  wise  to  discuss  before  this  Inter- 
national Peace  Congress— proper  because  the  Congo  State, 
on  account  of  its  ill-defined  international  status  and  its 
persistent  violation  of  its  promises  and  the  treaties  with 
the  various  Powers,  is  fast  becoming  once  more  an  inter- 
national problem,  which  will  require  great  tact  to  settle 
amicably;  and  proper  because  the  ever  increasing  ill-treat- 
ment of  the  native  people  produces  uprisings  which  bring 
in  their  train  cruelties  and  barbarities  unheard  of  even  in 
civilized  warfare. 

It  is  with  deep  sadness  that  I,  along  with  many  others 
who  have  lived  in  the  Congo  State  and  are  acquainted  with 
its  workings  and  have  the  interest  of  the  natives  and  for- 
eigners at  heart,  must  now  say  that  every  important  prom- 
ise made  and  every  important  treaty  stipulation  is  being 
openly  and  defiantly  violated  by  King  Leopold  and  his  so- 
called  "Congo  Free  State  Government." 

In  the  few  minutes  allotted  to  me  it  will  be  impossible  to 
go  into  the  details  of  my  personal  observations,  but  I  think 
enough  can  be  given  to  demonstrate  to  any  unbiased  mind 
that  the  situation  in  the  Congo  State  demands  impartial, 
international  investigation,  and,  more  than  all,  internatianal 
interference. 

For  the  sake  of  handling  the  subject  we  may  say  that 


William  McCutchan  Morrison  i8i 

the  Conferences  of  Berlin  and  Brussels  made,  in  the  inter- 
ests of  the  native  peoples,  the  following  treaty  stipulations 
with  the  Congo  State:  (i)  Freedom  of  trade;  (2)  En- 
couragement of  missionary  and  philanthropic  enterprises 
intended  for  the  Christianization  and  civilization  of  the 
native  people;  (3)  The  suppression  of  slavery  and  slave 
raiding  and  the  guaranteeing  to  the  natives  liberty  and  pro- 
tection in  their  rights  as  original  owners  of  the  land. 

Let  us  discuss  these  stipulations  in  the  order  mentioned. 

I.  According  to  the  General  Act  of  Berlin,  we  find  that 
Freedom  of  Trade  was  guaranteed.  Not  only  were  citizens 
of  all  nations  granted  the  right  to  reside  in  the  Congo  State 
and  carry  on  commerce  with  the  native  peoples,  but  it 
meant  that  the  native  peoples  had  the  right  to  offer  their 
wares,  the  products  of  their  land,  in  the  free  markets  of 
the  world.  It  especially  mentioned  the  fact  that  there 
should  never  be  any  monopoly  of  the  land  or  its  products. 
This  is  clearly  the  statement  and  the  meaning  of  the  treaty. 
The  question  now  is,  "Has  the  Congo  State  Government, 
or  rather  King  Leopold,  for  he  is  the  Government,  fulfilled 
and  carried  into  execution  that  stipulation  of  the  treaty?" 
1  answer  most  emphatically,  "No." 

The  gradual  and  often  underground  processes  by  which 
freedom  of  trade  has  been  throttled  is  one  of  the  darkest 
and  most  shameless  pages  in  the  Congo  State's  history. 
One  of  the  first  acts  of  King  Leopold,  after  his  sovereignty 
over  the  country  had  been  secured  by  the  Treaty  of  Berlin, 
was  to  issue  a  decree  appropriating  to  the  so-called  State 
all  the  lands  not  actually  occupied  by  the  houses  and  fields 
of  the  natives.  Even  this  latter  reservation  meant  little  of 
real  value  to  the  natives  for  they  were  given  no  title  to  their 
fields  and  hence  could  be  dispossessed  at  any  time.     Thus 


1 82  Twenty  Years  in  Africa 

we  see  that  at  one  stroke  of  the  pen  the  people  were  de- 
prived of  their  ancestral  lands. 

But  that  is  not  all.  In  the  earlier  years  of  the  State,  a 
goodly  number  of  traders,  representing  different  nationali- 
ties— English,  French,  Belgian,  Dutch,  Portuguese — went 
into  the  country  and  secured  from  the  Government  small 
concessions,  or  land  grants,  on  which  to  build  their  houses 
and  shops  and  thus  to  trade  with  the  natives,  exchanging 
manufactured  goods  for  the  raw  ivory  and  india  rubber. 
This  meant  that  the  natives  received  something  like  the 
true  value  for  their  products.  But  this  freedom  of  trade, 
though  import  and  export  duties  were  charged  and  enor- 
mous sums  had  to  be  paid  for  trading  licenses,  labor,  etc., 
did  not  bring  in  sufficient  revenue  to  satisfy  King  Leopold, 
whose  original  philanthropy  now  began  to  be  metamor- 
phosed into  avaricious  commercialism.  A  new  idea  was 
conceived.  Large  areas,  sometimes  embracing  hundreds 
of  square  miles,  were  given  over  to  large  land  companies 
for  exclusive  exploitation,  the  Government  to  have  one-half 
the  proceeds  of  the  said  companies.  As  a  concrete  illustra- 
tion of  what  this  means,  I  can  cite  the  situation  at  my  own 
place,  Luebo,  on  the  Kasai  River.  Up  to  three  years  ago 
there  were  five  separate  and  independent  trading  companies 
at  that  point.  Since  that  time  the  Government  has  organ- 
ized in  this  region  one  of  its  monopolistic  concessions  and 
all  these  old  companies  have  been  forced  into  the  combina- 
tion. The  result  is  that  at  Luebo  there  is  now  only  one 
trading  house ;  the  other  four,  being  deserted,  have  gone 
to  ruin.  Before  this  monopolistic  company  was  formed 
the  price  paid  to  the  natives  for  rubber  was  about  three 
francs  per  kilogram.  After  the  company  was  formed  the 
price  dropped  to  fifty  centimes — in  other  words,  from 
about  thirty  cents  to  five  cents  per  pound.     To  add  insult 


William  McCutchan  Morrison  183 

to  injury,  the  native  is  forbidden  to  go  into  the  forest  and 
make  rubber  and  sell  it  to  any  one  other  than  the  monopo- 
listic company.  If  he  does  he  is  considered  a  thief  for 
stealing  what  belongs  to  the  company.  Not  only  are  the 
natives  now  deprived  of  the  privilege  of  selling  their  wares 
in  an  open  market  to  the  highest  bidder,  but  by  the  Gov- 
ernment's refusing  to  outside  traders  the  right  to  buy  land 
and  trade  within  the  prescribed  territory  of  the  monopolis- 
tic companies,  an  outrage  has  been  committed  on  the  citi- 
zens of  the  very  nations  which  brought  the  Congo  State 
into  existence.  I  know  a  man  who  came  to  Luebo  hoping 
to  buy  a  small  piece  of  land  from  the  Government  and 
engage  in  trade.  This  was  absolutely  refused  and  he  finally 
went  away,  after  great  loss  to  himself  and  the  company 
which  he  represented. 

But  this  is  not  all.  In  some  of  the  companies  thus 
formed  the  natives  were  a  little  slow  about  bringing  in  the 
ivory  and  rubber  at  the  prices  fixed.  Then  another  expe- 
dient had  to  be  resorted  to.  And  just  here  begins  that  long 
and  bloody  story  of  Congo  cruelty  and  oppression  of  which 
I  shall  speak  later. 

I  have  thus  shown  that  now  there  is  no  longer  any  free- 
dom of  trade  in  the  Congo  State ;  that  the  country  has  been 
appropriated  by  the  Government ;  that,  with  the  exception 
of  a  small  district  in  the  extreme  west,  the  remainder  of 
the  great  interior  districts,  with  the  natives  and  the  prod- 
ucts, has  either  been  farmed  out  to  monopolistic  companies 
of  exploitation  or  is  retained  by  King  Leopold  as  his 
Private  Domain,  and  this  Private  Domain  is  being  exploited 
more  mercilessly,  if  possible,  than  the  territories  of  the 
companies. 

2.  But  let  us  notice  in  the  next  place  what  has  become 
of  the  stipulations  of  the  Berlin  Treaty  regarding  the  en- 


184  Twenty  Years  in  Africa 

couragement  by  the  State  of  missionary  and  other  philan- 
thropic enterprises,  having  for  their  purpose  the  Christiani- 
zation  and  civiHzation  and  education  of  the  native  people. 

In  the  early  years  of  the  Congo  Government,  just  as  we 
saw  in  the  matter  of  freedom  of  trade,  all  went  well  in 
Protestant  missionary  work,  which  was  being  carried  on 
by  societies  from  England,  the  United  States  and  Sweden. 
The  missionaries  were  permitted  to  buy  land  and  establish 
stations  without  hindrance.  Within  the  past  five  or  six 
years,  however,  since  the  organization  of  the  monopolistic 
trading  companies  above  referred  to,  the  Government  has 
declined  any  longer  to  sell  even  the  smallest  plots  of  land 
for  mission  purposes.  This  fact,  combined  with  the  state- 
ment that  the  law  prohibits  a  foreigner  from  residing  for 
more  than  fifteen  days  in  a  place  without  owning  the  land, 
has  practically  brought  any  expansive  mission  work  to  a 
standstill.  I,  myself,  and  other  members  of  the  mission, 
have  been  ordered  away  from  places  where  we  had  asked 
the  privilege  of  purchasing  land.  It  is  true  that  short-term 
leases  have  been  ofifered  in  some  cases ;  but  it  can  be  easily 
seen  that  it  is  impossible  to  undertake  any  permanent  mis- 
sion work,  establish  schools,  build  houses,  etc.,  with  the 
possibility  of  being  turned  out  at  the  expiration  of  the  lease 
and  all  work  gone  to  naught.  The  mission  of  which  I  am 
a  member  has,  within  the  past  six  years,  asked  for  the  privi- 
lege of  purchasing  land  and  establishing  stations  at  four 
different  places,  but  we  have  always  been  refused.  Other 
missions  report  similar  difficulties.  The  Congo  State  ven- 
tures a  defense  of  itself  on  this  charge  by  stating  that  there 
are  several  scores  of  Protestant  missionaries  in  the  country, 
together  with  a  number  of  Protestant  mission  stations.  It, 
however,  forgets  to  mention  that  these  stations  were  all 
secured  prior  to  the  last  five  or  six  years.    Another  favorite 


William  McCutchan  Morrison  185 

method  of  interference  with  mission  work  is  by  annoying 
and  harassing  the  people  in  the  vicinity  of  the  missions, 
thus  causing  them  in  some  cases  to  flee  into  the  forests  and 
elsewhere  for  safety.  I  have  seen  a  mission  station  which 
had  near  it  at  one  time  a  large  village  of  several  thousand 
people.  The  village  was  entirely  deserted.  The  same  sit- 
uation of  afifairs  is  being  continually  reported  from  various 
sections  of  the  Congo  State.  Recent  letters  from  the  mis- 
sionaries on  our  station  at  Luebo  bring  the  news  that  for 
many  months  the  people  have  been  compelled  to  work  in 
the  building  of  a  new  State  Post — and  every  State  Post 
thus  built  means  another  link  in  the  chain  of  slavery.  On 
account  of  this  long  continued  forced  service  for  the  Gov- 
ernment, the  people  have  not  had  opportunity  to  cultivate 
tlieir  fields.  The  result  is  that  a  famine  is  threatened ;  and 
yet,  famine  or  no  famine,  the  poor  natives  must  furnish 
food  for  the  great  crowd  of  soldiers,  camp  followers,  and, 
last  but  not  least,  the  white  Government  officials. 

Sometimes  our  schools  and  church  services  at  Luebo 
have  been  broken  up  for  weeks  at  a  time,  owing  to  the 
people  having  fled  to  the  forests  by'  thousands  in  order  to 
escape  capture  or  other  outrage  at  the  hands  of  the  Gov- 
ernment soldiers. 

It  can  thus  be  seen  that  a  great  wrong  is  being  done,  not 
only  to  the  citizens  of  these  countries  who  arc  willing  to 
make  a  great  sacrifice  in  order  to  disseminate  the  blessings 
of  Christianity  in  that  dark  land,  but  a  greater  wrong  is 
done  to  the  native  people  whom  the  Government  seems 
to  desire  to  keep  in  deeper  ignorance  and  darkness  because 
it  puts  every  obstacle  in  the  way  of  missionaries.  The 
Government  itself  sends  out  no  teachers,  it  establishes  no 
schools  and,  to  cap  the  climax  of  its  shameless  policy,  it 
even  throws  barriers  in  the  way  of  the  missionaries. 


i86  Twenty  Years  in  Africa 

3.  Having  seen  how  the  native  has  been  shorn  of  his 
ancestral  forests  and  deprived  of  the  privilege  of  freedom 
of  trade,  and  having  seen  how  the  Government,  by  its 
interference  with  mission  work,  is  thus  endeavoring  to 
shut  out  from  the  people  the  light  of  education,  Christiani- 
zation  and  civilization,  we  shall  now  proceed  to  notice 
whether  the  Government  has  kept  that  part  of  its  promise 
regarding  the  suppression  of  slavery  and  slave  raiding; 
whether  or  not  it  has  secured  to  the  native  his  liberty  and 
is  protecting  him  in  his  rights  guaranteed  by  the  treaties. 
I  make  bold  to  say  that  I  believe  the  condition  of  the 
native  people,  as  a  whole,  is  far  worse  than  it  was  before 
King  Leopold  and  his  gang  of  "moral  and  material"  regen- 
erators began  their  operations  in  Africa.  Words  fail  me 
to  attempt  to  describe  this  dark,  bloody  and  treacherous 
page  of  Congo  State  history.  The  system  of  forced  labor 
and  military  service  is  the  most  heartless  and  iniquitous  in 
the  history  of  modern  colonization  enterprises.  If  possible, 
it  even  surpasses  in  cruelty  and  relentless  heartlessness 
that  of  the  Spaniards  in  their  conquest  of  Mexico  and  Peru. 

I  can  only  briefly  outline  this  history  of  forced  labor  and 
military  service  as  I  have  seen  it  in  operation  there.  Short- 
ly after  the  founding  of  the  Congo  State  india  rubber  was 
found  to  exist  in  many  parts  of  the  country;  but,  as  the 
collecting  of  it  was  necessarily  a  slow  and  laborious  pro- 
cess, some  means  had  to  be  devised  by  which  to  force  the 
native  people  to  make  rubber  and  bring  it  to  the  Govern- 
ment posts.  The  Government,  instead  of  leaving  the  deal- 
ing in  rubber  to  independent  traders,  now  entered  itself 
into  the  rubber  business  and  henceforth  became  nothing 
but  a  great  commercial,  slave-driving  monopoly. 

King  Leopold,  at  the  Conference  of  Brussels,  secured 
the  desired  means  of  forcing  the  natives  to  make  rubber. 


William  McCutchan  Morrison  187 

This  means  was  a  native  army  to  be  recruited  and  armed 
for  the  ostensible  purpose  of  suppressing  the  Arabs,  but, 
as  it  turned  out,  for  the  purpose  of  binding  into  deeper 
slavery  his  unfortunate  African  subjects.  This  native 
army,  now  numbering  upwards  of  30,000  men,  composed 
of  captives  made  among  the  fiercest  tribes,  often  cannibals, 
armed  with  repeating  rifles  and  officered  by  Europeans — 
this  native  army,  I  say,  is  the  terror  of  the  wliole  Congo 
State  and  is  also  the  means  which  the  Royal  Sovereign 
uses  to  compel  his  helpless  and  defenceless  subjects  to 
make  and  bring  the  rubber  to  the  Government  posts.  The 
great  majority  of  these  soldiers  have  been  captured  and 
forced  into  military  service,  or  they  have  been  furnished 
by  villages  which  have  been  levied  upon.  They  are  then 
trained,  armed  with  rifles,  and  transported  to  a  region  re- 
mote from  that  in  which  they  were  born.  There,  being  out 
of  sympathy  with  the  people  with  whom  they  have  been 
placed,  there  is  little  danger  of  mutiny.  They  are  heartless 
in  their  treatment  of  the  unfortunate  people  with  whom 
they  come  into  contact. 

At  Luebo  the  great  majority  of  the  soldiers  whom  I  saw 
were  from  the  Bangala  tribe,  far  away  to  the  north;  at 
Boma,  the  capital  of  the  State,  I  have  seen  and  talked  with 
soldiers  belonging  to  the  Baluba  tribe.  These  men  were 
thus  more  than  a  thousand  miles  distant  from  their  native 
homes.  This  pitting  of  tribe  against  tribe,  producing  jeal- 
ousy and  not  infrequently  bloodshed,  is  one  of  the  most 
shameful  features  of  the  Congo  State  regime.  Time  and 
again  at  Luebo,  when  it  was  rumored  that  a  Government 
official  or  the  soldiers  w^ere  coming,  I  have  seen  the  people, 
filled  with  terror,  flee  into  the  forests  for  safety.  I  have 
seen  villages,  in  which  officers  and  soldiers  had  quartered 
for  the  night,  pillaged  and  desecrated  in  the  most  shameless 


i88  Twenty  Years  in  Africa 

manner,  and  that,  too,  right  under  the  eyes  of  the  Govern- 
ment officials.  I  have  seen  the  soldiers  actually  attacking 
and  plundering  villages  only  a  few  hundred  yards  from  my 
house.  These  same  soldiers,  in  attempting  to  capture  a 
woman  who  was  fleeing  for  her  life,  invaded  the  private 
home  of  two  of  our  missionaries. 

It  was  only  after  a  bitter  protest  on  my  part  that  the 
Government  official  was  prevented  from  forcibly  removing 
from  Luebo  thousands  of  people  and  compelling  them  to 
live  at  the  State  Post  at  Luluaburg. 

Only  a  few  months  before  starting  on  my  furlough  for 
America  a  squad  of  soldiers  came  to  Luebo,  accompanied 
by  a  white  officer.  They  claimed  to  have  come  to  recruit 
soldiers.  "Recruiting"  is  a  Congo  euphemism  for  slave 
raiding.  Though  I  had  extracted  from  the  officer  the  prom- 
ise that  he  would  take  no  one  away  by  force,  yet,  without 
a  moment's  warning,  he  began  seizing  the  men.  Many  fled 
into  the  forests,  where  they  were  pursued.  Seme  eighteen 
or  twenty  men  were  thus  captured,  and  I  saw  them  going 
away  under  guard,  with  ropes  round  their  necks,  in  the 
true  Arab  slave  raiding  style.  A  year  ago  I  boarded  the 
railway  at  Leopoldville  to  come  down  to  Matadi.  On  the 
same  train  were  several  open  cars  or  trucks  loaded  v/ith 
Government  slaves  who  had  been  captured  in  the  district 
east  of  Luebo.  They  were  being  taken  they  knew  not 
where.  They  told  me  that  they  had  come  to  the  State  post 
in  their  vicinity  to  bring  their  tribute  of  ivory  and  rubber. 
Upon  arriving  at  the  post,  they  had  been  surrounded  by  the 
soldiers,  captured,  put  on  a  Government  steamer,  and  when 
I  saw  them  on  the  railway  they  were  fully  a  thousand  miles 
from  their  homes.  They  begged  me  for  food,  saying  they 
were  nearly  starved. 

At  Luluaburg  the  Government  some  years  ago  imported 


William  McCutchan  Morrison  189 

and  stationed  several  thousand  Zappo  Zapps,  a  powerful 
cannibal  tribe,  with  which  the  State  had  formed  an  alliance. 
These  Zappo  Zapps,  though  allies  of  the  State  and  though 
under  the  immediate  surveillance  of  the  Government  off.- 
cials,  have  been  for  many  years  the  recognized  slave  raiders 
and  slave  dealers  of  the  whole  region.  Many  times  I  have 
seen  the  Zappo  Zapps  passing  by  my  door  offering  for  sale 
men,  women  and  children  whom  they  had  captured  in  the 
districts  beyond  Luluaburg.  In  tact,  I  can  buy  a  slave  any 
day  in  Luluaburg  at  from  eight  to  twelve  dollars  apiece, 
sometimes  even  cheaper  than  that. 

A  large  gang  of  these  Zappo  Zapps,  under  one  of  their 
most  prominent  chiefs,  was  sent  on  a  raiding  expedition 
near  to  one  of  our  stations,  Ibanche.  For  weeks  we  had 
heard  of  the  most  terrible  outrages  going  on.  At  last  we 
sent  one  of  our  esteemed  missionaries,  Rev.  W.  H.  Shep- 
pard,  to  investigate.  As  he  came  into  the  vicinity  of  the 
disturbances  he  found  the  villages  burnt  and  deserted. 
Upon  arriving  at  the  camp  of  the  Zappo  Zapps,  he  found 
a  large  stockade.  Inside  of  this  stockade,  only  a  few  days 
before,  had  occurred  a  horrible  butchery  of  innocent  men, 
women  and  children,  who  had  been  invited  there  apparently 
on  a  friendly  visit.  Because  they  could  not  pay  the  enor- 
mous tribute  of  ivory  and  rubber  and  slaves  which  was 
demanded  they  were  shot  down  in  the  stockade.  Dr.  Shep- 
pard  saw  and  counted  eighty-one  hands  which  had  been 
severed  at  the  wrists  and  were  slowly  drying  over  a  fife. 
The  leader  of  the  expedition  informed  Dr.  Sheppard  that 
he  had  been  instructed  by  the  Government  officials  at  Lulua- 
burg to  bring  back  the  hands  in  order  to  show  that  his  work 
had  been  well  done.  Dr.  Sheppard  also  saw  forty  bodies 
piled  in  a  heap  on  the  outside  of  the  stockade. 

But  what  is  the  use  of  going  farther  into  th's  revolt'ng 


190  Twenty  Years  in  Africa 

narrative  of  bloodshed,  mutilation,  oppression  and  slavery? 
The  self-styled  Sovereign  of  the  Congo  State  has  proved 
recreant  to  the  sacred  trusts  committed  into  his  hands  by 
the  Powers  in  1884.  His  promised  philanthropic  Govern- 
ment has  been  metamorphosed  into  a  State  whose  real 
motto  is,  "Rubber,  rubber  at  any  cost." 

In  other  civilized  countries  engaged  in  governing  subor- 
dinate races  there  is  a  strong  public  protest  at  home  against 
any  malicious  ill-treatment  of  the  natives — a  healthy  public 
sentiment  simply  demands  a  reasonably  just  government. 

One  of  the  saddest  features  of  this  Congo  situation  is 
the  fact  of  seeming  moral  bankruptcy  of  the  Belgian  nation. 
I  know  full  well  that  Belgium  has  no  official  connection 
with  the  Congo;  yet,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  public 
voices  raised  in  protest,  the  great  body  of  the  Belgian  na- 
tion seems  not  only  indififerent,  but  actually  defends  the 
policy  of  King  Leopold  in  Africa.  The  question  now  is: 
shall  the  jealousy  and  the  lethargy  of  the  Powers  which 
originally  recognized  the  Congo  State  permit  another  Ar- 
menia in  Africa? 

The  Congo  Government  points  to  its  prosperity,  to  its 
millions  of  dollars  worth  of  exports,  to  its  railways  and 
steamboats,  to  its  plantations  and  beautiful  military  posts 
and  monopolistic  companies  which  are  paying  fabulous 
dividends.  I  point  to  the  lash  and  the  chains  and  the  re- 
peating rifles  and  the  30,000  cannibal  soldiers  which  have 
made  all  this  so-called  prosperity  possible— a  prosperity 
which  is  felt  in  Brussels,  but  not  on  the  Congo.  Instead 
of  the  taxes  going  back  for  the  benefit  of  the  native  people, 
they  either  stop  in  the  coffers  of  King  Leopold  and  the 
stockholders   of   the   monopolistic   companies,   or   they   are 


William  McCutchan  Morrison  191 

sent  back  to  the  Congo  to  build  more  railroads  and  more 
steamboats  and  more  State  posts  and  to  buy  more  rifles. 

King  Leopold  has  arrogated  to  himself  absolute  power; 
there  is  no  Congress  or  Parliament  to  hold  any  check.  His 
avarice  and  relentless  greed  can  run  unbridled ;  the  poor 
natives  are  defenseless  and  helpless,  and  they  are  holding 
up  the  chains  of  their  slavery,  their  mangled  bodies  and 
their  impoverished  fatherland  to  the  civilized  world,  plead- 
ing for  relief  from  the  Government  which  has  been  placed 
over  them  as  a  cruel  taskmaster. 

Surely  this  International  Peace  Congress  will  not  turn  a 
deaf  ear  to  the  cry  of  the  needy  and  the  oppressed  in 
Africa. 


—7— 


APPENDIX  B 

(ill|?  (Eas?  of  Sr.  iHorrtBon  avih  Ir.  ^l|rpparb 

[Article  in  the  "Kasai  Herald"  of  January,  1908,  a  magazine  pub- 
lished by  the  missionaries  at  Luebo,  on  which  the  indictment  of  Dr. 
Morrison  and  Dr.  Sheppard  was  founded.] 

FROiM  THE  BAKUBA  COUNTRY. 

W.    n.    SHEPPARD 

These  great  stalwart  men  and  women,  who  have  from 
time  immemorial  been  free,  cultivating  large  crops  of  In- 
dian corn,  tobacco,  potatoes,  trapping  elephants  for  their 
ivory  tusks  and  leopards  for  their  skins,  who  have  always 
had  their  own  king  and  a  government  not  to  be  despised, 
officers  of  the  law  established  in  every  town  of  the  king- 
dom— these  magnificent  people,  perhaps  about  400,000  in 
number,  have  entered  a  new  chapter  in  the  history  of  their 
tribe.  Only  a  few  years  since,  travelers  througi^  this  coun- 
try found  them  living  in  large  homes,  having  from  one  to 
four  rooms  in  each  house,  loving  and  living  happily  with 
their  wives  and  children,  one  of  the  most  prosperous  and 
intelligent  of  all  the  African  tribes,  though  living  in  one 
of  the  most  remote  spots  on  the  planet.  One  seeing  the 
happy,  busy,  prosperous  lives  which  they  lived  could  not 
help  feeling  that  surely  the  lines  had  fallen  unto  this  people 
in  pleasant  places. 

But  within  these  last  three  years  how  changed  they  are ! 
Their  farms  are  growing  up  in  weeds  and  jimgle,  their  king 
is  practically  a  slave,  their  houses  now  are  mostly  only 
half-built  single  rooms  and  are  much  neglected.  The 
streets  of  their  towns  are  not  clean  and  well-swept  as  they 
once  were.     Even  their  children  cry  for  bread. 

Why  this  change?     You  have  it  in  a  few  words.     There 


194  Twenty  Years  in  Africa 

are  armed  sentries  of  chartered*  trading  companies,  who 
force  the  men  and  women  to  spend  most  of  their  days  and 
nights  in  the  forests  making  rubber,  and  the  price  they  re- 
ceive is  so  meager  that  they  cannot  Hve  upon  it.  In  the 
majority  of  the  villages  these  people  have  not  time  to  listen 
to  the  gospel  story,  or  give  an  answer  concerning  their 
soul's  salvation.  Looking  upon  the  changed  scene  now,  one 
can  only  join  with  them  in  their  groans  as  they  must  say: 
"Our  burdens  are  greater  than  we  can  bear." 

Just  near  the  mission  station,  however,  it  is  still  reason- 
ably prosperous.  The  parents  send  their  children  to  school 
and  to  church.  Many  of  them  are  in  training  to  become 
teachers  and  preachers  to  their  own  people.  The  industrial 
part  of  the  work  is  doing  beautifully.  Church  services  are 
held  daily  in  all  the  near  villages.  Sabbath  schools  are 
taught  by  competent  evangelists.  The  Lord  is  showering 
blessings  upon  them,  and  they  appreciate  it  and  prove  it 
by  their  works. 

In  1890  our  church  sent  a  lighted  torch  into  Central 
Africa,  entrusting  it  into  the  hands  of  the  immortal  Samuel 
N.  Lapsley.  The  light  has  not  been  extinguished  and  shall 
never  be.  It  has  sent  forth  its  rays  of  light  and  life  into 
hundreds  of  homes,  and  the  great  highway  from  Central 
Africa  to  Glory  has  been  lighted  up  by  it,  and  thousands 
have  been  led  to  walk  therein.  May  a  blessing  rest  upon 
all  who  have  in  any  way  aided  in  sending  the  light  into  this 
dark  land. 

*NoTE. — Rev.  W.  M.  Morrison,  D.D.  (co-defendant  with  Dr.  Shep- 
pard),  writes  that  in  the  indictment  much  is  made  of  the  use  of  the 
word  "chartered"  instead  of  the  word  "concessionary,"  in  describing 
the  Company  Kasai.  The  amount  of  damages  named  in  the  suit  is 
80,000  francs,  $16,000.  The  alternative  penalty  is  five  years'  impris- 
onment. 


William  McCutciian  Morrlson  195 

LETTER    FROM    REV.    IV.    M.    MORRISON,    D.D.,    TO    DK 
CHESTER,  SECRETARY  OF  THE  EXECUTIVE  COM- 
MITTEE. NASHVILLE,  TENN. 

LuiiBo,  Congo  Free  State,  Africa, 

February  24,  1909. 

My  Dear  Dr.  Chester:  Well,  the  long-threatened  suit  of 
the  monopolistic  trading  company  here  agamst  Sheppard 
and  myself  has  at  last  materialized.  The  summons  came 
to  us  a  day  or  so  ago.  The  grounds  of  the  suit  are  "the 
publication  in  the  'Kasai  Herald,'  of  January,  1908,  certain 
statements  utterly  false,  which  have  brought  great  damage 
to  the  company."  I  judge,  however,  from  the  way  the 
summons  is  worded  that  there  will  not  be  ver}'  much  efifort 
made  to  disprove  our  statements  with  reference  to  the  abus- 
ing of  the  natives,  which  is  the  point  really  at  issue;  but 
the  whole  trial  is  to  center  around  a  quibble  about  the  word 
'chartered,'  which  occurs  in  the  article.  The  company  con- 
tends that  it  is  not  a  chartered  company.  Of  course,  what 
the  difference  between  a  chartered  company  and  a  "con- 
cessionary "company  is  may  not  be  very  plain  to  the  average 
man,  but  these  people  are  grabbing  at  straws  in  their  effort 
to  defend  themselves  and  the  system  which  they  have  put 
into  operation,  which  .system  they  mean  to  perpetuate  under 
the  new  regime  here  unless  the  Powers  interfere. 

I  inclose  you  letters  which  I  have  written  to  our  Consul 
at  Boma.  In  these  letters  you  will  note  that  I  believe  this 
trial  is  intended  as  a  test  case.  In  view  of  the  fact  that 
it  is  not  so  much  the  company,  as  the  Government  itself 
and  its  whole  policy  which  is  involved,  I  believe  we  cannot 
expect  an  impartial  trial  of  this  case.  Yon  kiiozu  that  the 
Govermnent,  which  is  really  Leopold  and  the  little  coterie 
about  him,  owns  fifty  per  cent  of  the  stock  in  this  company. 


196  Twenty  Years  in  Africa 

Leopold  appoints  the  judges  and  all  of  the  important  offi- 
cials of  the  Government.  Therefore,  can  it  be  expected, 
especially  considering  the  general  character  of  the  man, 
that  there  is  any  idea  of  giving  us  justice? 

You  may  remember  that  in  the  famous  Stannard  case 
(an  English  missionary),  the  Government  at  first  decided 
against  him,  and  he  was  condemned  to  pay  or  go  to  prison. 
But  when  the  injustice  of  the  whole  proceeding  aroused 
such  public  indignation  in  England,  the  Government  re- 
versed its  own  decision.  This  was  only  done,  however, 
after  wide  publicity  had  been  given  to  the  fact  that  Stan- 
nard had  been  proved  guilty.  It  will  also  be  remembered 
that  Stannard's  ivitnesses  were  put  in  prison  and  were  so 
intimidated  that  they  testified  contrary  to  what  they  knew 
to  be  the  facts.  We  have  no  assurance  but  that  our  native 
witnesses  will  be  treated  in  the  same  way.  The  Bakuba  are 
very  timid,  and  I  believe  we  shall  have  great  difficulty  in 
getting  any  of  them  to  go  all  the  way  to  Leopoldville,  nine 
hundred  miles  away. 

And  just  here  you  will  note  this  feature  of  the  transac- 
tion. To  begin  with,  zve  are  dragged,  zvith  our  witnesses, 
all  the  ivay  to  Leopoldville,  nine  hundred  miles  away,  when 
the  trial,  so  far  as  ive  knoiv,  could  have  been  held  at  Lu- 
sambo  just  as  well.  But  nothing  else  need  be  expected 
from  such  a  Government. 

We  were  all  hoping  that  with  the  new  regime  there 
would  come  some  manifestation  of  a  change  in  spirit,  but, 
so  far  as  I  see,  none  whatever.  You  mentioned  in  one  of 
your  recent  letters  to  me  that  you  thought  the  new  Govern- 
ment ought  to  remove  all  the  old  officials  and  start  anew. 
Not  only  has  this  not  been  done,  but  there  is  every  sign 
that  the  old  ways  are  to  be  perpetuated  in  full  force. 

I  am  by  this  mail  writing  to  our  Consul  at  Boma.     I  in- 


William  McCutchan  Morrison  197 

close   you    the    letter.      Also   one   written   to   the   English 
Consul. 

We  are  looking  for  our  steamer  any  day  back  from  the 
Pool.  Then  we  shall  see  about  what  arrangements  we  can 
make  about  getting  down  to  the  Pool.  The  chances  are 
that  our  steamer  will  have  to  spend  the  dry  season  at  Bena 
Makima,  for  I  doubt  if  she  can  come  up  here  to  Luebo  as 
late  as  we  shall  have  to  return,  for  you  note  that  the  trial 
is  set  for  the  25th  of  May.  Trusting  that  the  Lord  may 
soon  put  down  the  oppressor  and  show  his  hand  in  behalf 
of  the  poor  and  needy  in  this  unfortunate  land,  I  am, 
Yours  most  cordially, 

W.  M.  Morrison. 

LETTER   FROM   DR.    CHESTER  TO  HON.  PHILANDER  C. 
KNOX,  SECRETARY  OF  STATE,  WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 

Sir:  In  behalf  of  the  Executive  Committee  of  Foreign 
Missions  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United  States, 
I  desire  to  lay  before  you  the  facts  and  documents  relating 
to  a  charge  of  criminal  libel  which  has  been  brought  against 
two  of  our  missionaries  in  the  Congo  Independent  State, 
Africa,  Rev.  William  M.  Morrison,  D.D.,  and  Rev.  W.  H. 
Sheppard,  D.D.,  by  certain  officers  of  the  Company  Kasai, 
one  of  the  concessionary  rubber  companies  operating  in  the 
Kasai  District  in  the  same  territory  covered  by  the  work  of 
our  Mission. 

We  are  informed  that  the  charge  brought  against  these 
missionaries  'is  founded  on  an  article  published  in  the 
"Kasai  Herald,"  a  magazine  published  by  our  missionaries 
at  Luebo,  dated  January,  1908.  A  copy  of  this  article  is 
herewith  submitted. 

We  are  constrained  to  ask  the  intervention  of  our  De- 


198  Twenty  Years  in  Africa 

partment  of  State  for  the  protection  of  these  missionaries 
in  their  rights  as  American  citizens,  for  the  following 
reasons : 

1.  In  the  year  1905  a  missionary  of  the  English  Baptist 
Church,  the  Rev.  Edgar  Stannard,  was  accused  and  tried 
before  a  Court  of  the  Congo  Independent  State  on  a  similar 
charge.  A  pamphlet  issued  by  the  Congo  Reform  Asso- 
ciation, entitled  "The  Stannard  Case,"  giving  an  account 
of  the  proceedings  had  in  that  trial  is  herewith  submitted, 
together  with  a  brief  summary  of  the  contents  of  the  said 
pamphlet  given  on  a  separate  sheet  and  included  in  the  list 
of  documents  herewith  submitted. 

We  are  informed  that  since  the  trial  of  Mr.  Stannard, 
a  new  law  relating  to  the  subject  of  "defamation"  has  been 
promulgated,  making  the  penalty  following  conviction  of 
the  same  offiense  of  which  Mr.  Stannard  was  convicted  "a 
maximum  of  five  years'  imprisonment  and  a  fine  of  one 
thousand  francs,  or  one  only  of  these  penalties." 

Considering  the  severity  of  this  penalty,  we  feel  it  incum- 
bent upon  us  to  invoke  the  aid  of  our  Department  of  State 
in  preventing  any  such  miscarriage  of  justice  under  the 
forms  of  law  as  we  believe  the  records  show  to  have  oc- 
curred in  the  case  of  Mr.  Stannard. 

2.  That  we  have  just  reason  to  fear  a  failure  on  the 
part  of  the  authorities  of  the  Congo  Independent  State  to 
give  our  missionaries  a  fair  trial  according  to  American 
ideas  in  this  case  seems  to  us  evident  from  the  manner  in 
which  the  case  has  been  conducted  thus  far.  The  alleged 
offense  was  committed  nearly  a  year  and  a  half  ago.  The 
acquittal  of  the  missionaries  will  depend  upon  their  being 
able  to  prove  before  the  court  the  truth  of  tlie  statements 
made  in  their  publication.  The  witnesses  by  which  these 
statements  must  be  substantiated  are  members  of  the  Baku- 


William  McCutchan  Morrison  199 

ba  tribe,  which  tribe  is  and  has  been  terrorized  by  the 
agents  of  the  Company  Kasai,  and  they  will,  for  that 
reason,  be  difficult  to  persuade  to  appear  before  the  court 
under  any  circumstances.  A  most  remarkable  circum- 
stance is  that  the  place  designated  for  the  trial  is  Leopold- 
ville.  which  is  about  nine  hundred  miles  distant  from  Luebo, 
where  the  missionaries  reside,  and  about  a  thousand  miles 
distant  from  the  place  where  the  Bakuba  witnesses  must 
be  found.  Furthermore,  the  date  of  the  hearing  has  been 
fixed  for  May  25th,  by  which  time  the  low  water  in  the 
Kasai  River  will,  in  all  probability,  make  it  impossible  for 
the  steamer  owned  by  our  Mission  to  navigate  the  river 
higher  up  than  Bena  Makima,  a  distance  of  two  hundred 
miles  from  Luebo.  It  will  be  necessary  for  our  mission- 
aries and  the  witnesses  they  must  bring  before  the  court  for 
their  defense  to  travel  this  two  hundred  miles  of  the  jour- 
ney by  caravan.  It  will  also  be  not  less  than  five  months 
before  they  will  be  able  to  return  to  I.uebo  by  steamer. 
During  these  five  months  it  will  be  necessary  for  them  to 
remain  at  Leopoldville  with  their  witnesses  at  a  very  heavy 
expense.  'Would  such  proceedings  be  tolerated  in  the  trial 
of  an  American  citizen  at  home?  If  not,  must  we  submit 
to  them  in  the  trial  of  our  citizens  in  the  Congo  Independ- 
ent State? 

We  feel  assured  that  the  mere  statement  of  the  above 
facts  will  be  sufficient  to  show  that  we  are  justified  in  call- 
ing upon  our  Department  of  State  to  intervene  in  this  case. 

We  desire  to  call  special  attention  to  the  article  taken 
from  the  "Kasai  Herald,"  on  which  the  charge  of  libel  is 
founded,  and  respectfully  ask  that  a  comparison  be  made 
of  the  charges  brought  in  that  article  against  the  Company 
Kasai  and  its  agents  with  the  reports  sent  to  the  Depart- 
ment by  Consuls  Smith,  Slocum,  Memminger  and  Handley, 


200  Twenty  Years  in  Africa 

on  the  conditions  which  they  found  prevaiHng  in  the  same 
territory. 

We  desire,  in  closing,  to  express  our  profound  gratifica- 
tion at  the  stand  already  taken  by  our  Government,  in  de- 
clining to  recognize  the  transfer  of  the  sovereignty  of  the 
Congo  Independent  State  from  King  Leopold  to  Belgium, 
except  upon  the  basis  of  satisfactory  guarantees  of  the 
abolition  of  forced  labor  and  the  restoration  to  the  natives 
of  their  rights  in  land  and  in  the  produce  of  the  soil,  of 
which  rights  they  have  been  deprived  by  the  legislation  and 
procedure  of  the  Congo  State.  This,  together  with  our 
whole  previous  experience  in  such  cases,  leads  us  to  feel 
the  utmost  confidence  that  nothing  will  be  left  undone  that 
can  properly  be  done  by  our  Department  of  Slate  to  protect 
our  missionaries  from  the  present  threatened  injustice  and 
to  safeguard  their  treaty  rights. 

In  behalf  of  the  Executive  Committee  of  Foreign  Mis- 
sions.   Very  respectfully  yours, 

S.  H.  Chester,  Secretary. 

In  a  personal  interview  following  the  presentation  of  the 
above  statement,  it  developed  that,  by  an  act  of  Providence, 
the  State  Department  received  the  report  of  Consul-Gen- 
eral  Handley,  confirming  all  the  allegations  in  Dr.  Shep- 
pard's  article,  on  which  the  indictment  was  based,  on  the 
same  day  that  the  statements  of  Dr.  Morrison  as  to  the 
unreasonable  requirements  of  the  Congo  Government 
reached  Washington.  As  the  result  of  this  interview  of 
Dr.  Chester's  with  the  State  Department,  the  American 
Legation  at  Brussels  was  instructed  to  demand  of  the  Bel- 
gian Government  a  change  in  both  the  date  and  the  place 
of  the  trial,  so  that  the  accused  missionaries  might  procure 


William  McCutchan  Morrison  201 

the  attendance  of  the  witnesses  needed  for  their  defense 
without  unnecessary  inconvenience  and  hardsliip.  In  re- 
sponse to  this  demand  the  date  was  changed  to  September 
24th,  1909.  As  stated  in  the  text,  Hon.  Emil  Vandervelde, 
of  Belgium,  went  to  Leopoldville  as  attorney  for  the  mis- 
sionaries; and,  as  a  result  of  his  masterly  defense,  they 
were  acquitted. 


DATE  DUE 


DEMCO  38-297 


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